We examined this issue by using the rodent somatic system as a model. In rat SI, deep somatic input is processed mainly in the dysgranular zone (DSZ) enclosed by the cutaneous barrel subfields. By using biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) as anterograde tracer, we characterized the topography of cortic...

We show that the hairless vibrissal crypts on the rostrum of the Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis), structures originally associated with the mammalian whiskers, serve as electroreceptors. Histological investigations revealed that the vibrissal crypts possess a well-innervated ampullary structure...

Synapses in the brain are continuously modified by experience, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. In vitro and theoretical studies suggest threshold-lowering interactions between nearby synapses that favor clustering of synaptic plasticity within a dendritic branch. Here, a fl...

We examined developmental refinement of whisker relay (lemniscal) synapses in the thalamus in mice deficient of AMPAR subunits. Deletion of GluA3 or GluA4 caused significant reductions of synaptic AMPAR currents in thalamic neurons at P16-P17, with a greater reduction observed in GluA3-deficient mic...

We review our current knowledge on the origin of early electrical activity patterns in neocortical sensory areas and their functional implications on shaping developing cortical networks. © 2011 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience © 2011 Federation of European Neuroscienc...

We report that early gamma oscillations (EGOs) enable precise spatiotemporal thalamocortical synchronization in the neonatal rat whisker sensory system. Driven by a thalamic gamma oscillator and initially independent of cortical inhibition, EGOs synchronize neurons in a single thalamic barreloid and...

We were able to identify cell type-specific intracortical circuits that may encode whisker motion and touch. Individual slender-tufted neurons showed elaborate and dense innervation of supragranular layers of large portions of the vibrissal area (total length, 86.8 ± 5.5 mm). During active whisking...

We show that visual deprivation (VD) increases extracellular serotonin in the juvenile rat barrel cortex. This increase in serotonin levels facilitates synaptic strengthening at layer 4 to layer 2/3 synapses within the barrel cortex. Upon VD, whisker experience leads to trafficking of the AMPA-type...

To develop a behavioral model in mice that is capable of mimicking some distinctive symptoms of human posttraumatic trigeminal neuropathic pain such as spontaneous pain, cold allodynia, and chemical÷inflammatory hyperalgesia, and to use this model to investigate the antinociceptive...

We tested the hypothesis that male knockout mice show exaggerated limbic activation during exposure to an emotional stressor, similar to human subjects with genetically reduced transcription of the serotonin transporter. Functional brain mapping using [(14)C]-iodoantipyrine was perfo...