Abstract
Sensory maps are reshaped by experience. It is unknown how map plasticity occurs in vivo in functionally diverse neuronal populations because activity of the same cells has not been tracked over long time periods. Here we used repeated two-photon imaging of a genetic calcium indicator to measure whisker-evoked responsiveness of the same layer 2/3 neurons in adult mouse barrel cortex over weeks, first with whiskers intact, then during continued trimming of all but one whisker. Across the baseline period, neurons displayed heterogeneous yet stable responsiveness. During sensory deprivation, responses to trimmed whisker stimulation globally decreased, whereas responses to spared whisker stimulation increased for the least active neurons and decreased for the most active neurons. These findings suggest that recruitment of inactive, 'silent' neurons is part of a convergent redistribution of population activity underlying sensory map plasticity. Sensory-driven responsiveness is a key property controlling experience-dependent activity changes in individual neurons.
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Acknowledgements
We thank H. Kasper, S. Giger and D. Göckeritz for technical assistance and A. Holtmaat, B. Gähwiler, M. Schwab, M. Thallmair and V. Planchamp for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This work was supported by an AMBIZIONE grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) to D.J.M.; a postdoctoral fellowship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to H.L.; an SNSF grant to F. Helmchen (3100A0-114624); the EU-FP7 program (PLASTICISE project 223524 to F. Helmchen, and BRAIN-I-NETS project 243914 to F. Helmchen and F. Haiss); a grant from the Swiss SystemsX.ch initiative (project 2008/2011-Neurochoice) to F. Helmchen and B.W.; and the Max Planck Society and the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung (M.T.H.).
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Conceived/designed the study: D.J.M., H.L., F. Helmchen; performed viral injections: D.J.M., H.L.; performed cranial window surgeries: D.J.M., F. Haiss (laboratory of B.W.); performed imaging experiments: D.J.M., H.L., K.S.; performed electrophysiology experiments: H.L., D.J.M.; produced constructs and viruses: M.T.H., S.K.; developed analysis routines: H.L.; performed analysis: H.L., D.J.M., F. Helmchen; wrote the manuscript: D.J.M., H.L., F. Helmchen.
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Margolis, D., Lütcke, H., Schulz, K. et al. Reorganization of cortical population activity imaged throughout long-term sensory deprivation. Nat Neurosci 15, 1539–1546 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3240
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3240
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