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A visual thalamocortical slice

Nature Methods volume 3, pages 129–134 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

We describe a thalamocortical slice preparation in which connectivity between the mouse lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and primary visual cortex (V1) is preserved. Through DiI injections in fixed brains we traced and created a three-dimensional model of the mouse visual pathways. From this computer model we designed a slice preparation that contains a projection from LGN to V1. We prepared brain slices with these predicted coordinates and demonstrated anatomical LGN-V1 connectivity in these slices after LGN tracer injections. We also revealed functional LGN-V1 connectivity by stimulating LGN electrically and detecting responses in layer 4 of V1 using calcium imaging, field potential recordings and whole-cell recordings. We also identified layer-4 neurons that receive direct thalamocortical input. Finally, we compared cortical activity after LGN stimulation with spontaneous cortical activity and found significant overlap of the spatiotemporal dynamics generated by both types of events.

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Figure 1: Reconstruction of the mouse visual thalamocortical pathway.
Figure 2: CAD of visual thalamocortical slices.
Figure 3: Anatomical and functional connectivity from LGN to V1.
Figure 4: LGN stimulation activates neuronal ensembles in V1.
Figure 5: Layer-4 neurons receive direct input from the LGN.
Figure 6: Repeated spatiotemporal dynamics of activation in spontaneous and triggered network activity in visual cortex.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Kelley, R. Urban and M. Weiss for help and members of the laboratory for comments. Supported by the National Eye Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, 1212 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, 10027, New York, USA

    Jason N MacLean, Vivian Fenstermaker, Brendon O Watson & Rafael Yuste

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  1. Jason N MacLean
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  2. Vivian Fenstermaker
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  3. Brendon O Watson
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  4. Rafael Yuste
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jason N MacLean.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Fig. 1

Expansion of the tracing of DiI labeling in cortex shown in Figure 3b. (PDF 30 kb)

Supplementary Video 1

Stimulation of the LGN elicits network activity in V1. ΔF/F movie, frame rate is 6.6 Hz. At the end of frame 1, a stimulus was applied (110 μAmps, 40 Hz). Note how several neurons display time-locked calcium transients (increases in white level). (MOV 288 kb)

Supplementary Video 2

Both triggered and spontaneous events are shown side by side and progress at the same rate (each frame: 300 ms). Filled contours indicate active neurons. At the end of frame 2, a stimulus was applied (110 μAmps, 40 Hz). Note how several neurons display lockstep activations between both events. (AVI 754 kb)

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MacLean, J., Fenstermaker, V., Watson, B. et al. A visual thalamocortical slice. Nat Methods 3, 129–134 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth849

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