Sensory cortex
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Serial Dependence in Perceptual Decisions Is Reflected in Activity Patterns in Primary Visual Cortex Open
We perceive a stable visual scene, although our visual input is constantly changing. This experience may in part be driven by a bias in visual perception that causes images to be perceived as similar to those previously seen. Here, we prov…
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Top-down modulation in the infant brain: Learning-induced expectations rapidly affect the sensory cortex at 6 months Open
Significance Although infants are excellent learners, it is unclear whether infants use neural strategies similar to those of adults to track changes in their environment. One adult neural strategy is to use feedback connections to modulat…
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Prenatal activity from thalamic neurons governs the emergence of functional cortical maps in mice Open
Brain map of touch sensation The brain's somatosensory cortex contains a topographical map that reflects touch sensation inputs. During embryonic development, axons from the midbrain thalamus build columnar connections to the cortex in the…
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Posterior Parietal Cortex Guides Visual Decisions in Rats Open
Neurons in putative decision-making structures can reflect both sensory and decision signals, making their causal role in decisions unclear. Here, we tested whether rat posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is causal for processing visual sensor…
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Specialization and integration of functional thalamocortical connectivity in the human infant Open
Significance We investigated the way in which the human thalamus and cortex are functionally connected at the time of normal birth. We found the functional parcellation of the thalamus to be a good facsimile of that found in adult studies.…
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Selectivity of Neuromodulatory Projections from the Basal Forebrain and Locus Ceruleus to Primary Sensory Cortices Open
Acetylcholine and noradrenaline are major neuromodulators that affect sensory processing in the cortex. Modality-specific sensory information is processed in defined areas of the cortex, but it is unclear whether cholinergic neurons in the…
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Prior expectations evoke stimulus-specific activity in the deep layers of the primary visual cortex Open
The way we perceive the world is strongly influenced by our expectations. In line with this, much recent research has revealed that prior expectations strongly modulate sensory processing. However, the neural circuitry through which the br…
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A Sensorimotor Pathway via Higher-Order Thalamus Open
We now know that sensory processing in cortex occurs not only via direct communication between primary to secondary areas, but also via their parallel cortico-thalamo-cortical (i.e., trans -thalamic) pathways. Both corticocortical and tran…
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Learning Enhances Sensory Processing in Mouse V1 before Improving Behavior Open
A fundamental property of visual cortex is to enhance the representation of those stimuli that are relevant for behavior, but it remains poorly understood how such enhanced representations arise during learning. Using classical conditionin…
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Neural responses to natural and model-matched stimuli reveal distinct computations in primary and nonprimary auditory cortex Open
A central goal of sensory neuroscience is to construct models that can explain neural responses to natural stimuli. As a consequence, sensory models are often tested by comparing neural responses to natural stimuli with model responses to …
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Sensory-motor cortices shape functional connectivity dynamics in the human brain Open
Large-scale biophysical circuit models provide mechanistic insights into the micro-scale and macro-scale properties of brain organization that shape complex patterns of spontaneous brain activity. We developed a spatially heterogeneous lar…
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Layer-specific activation of sensory input and predictive feedback in the human primary somatosensory cortex Open
Using laminar fMRI, we show that prediction and sensory inputs activate specific layers in human primary somatosensory cortex.
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Topography of microglial activation in sensory‐ and affect‐related brain regions in chronic pain Open
Microglial activation in the spinal cord plays a central role in the development and maintenance of chronic pain after a peripheral nerve injury (PNI). There has not yet been a thorough assessment of microglial activation in brain regions …
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Awake vs. anesthetized: layer-specific sensory processing in visual cortex and functional connectivity between cortical areas Open
During general anesthesia, global brain activity and behavioral state are profoundly altered. Yet it remains mostly unknown how anesthetics alter sensory processing across cortical layers and modulate functional cortico-cortical connectivi…
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Fast-spiking GABA circuit dynamics in the auditory cortex predict recovery of sensory processing following peripheral nerve damage Open
Cortical neurons remap their receptive fields and rescale sensitivity to spared peripheral inputs following sensory nerve damage. To address how these plasticity processes are coordinated over the course of functional recovery, we tracked …
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Two distinct feedback codes in V1 for ‘real’ and ‘imaginary’ internal experiences Open
Visual illusions and visual imagery are conscious sensory events that lack a corresponding physical input. But while everyday mental imagery feels distinct from incoming stimulus input, visual illusions, like hallucinations, are under limi…
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Body Topography Parcellates Human Sensory and Motor Cortex Open
The cytoarchitectonic map as proposed by Brodmann currently dominates models of human sensorimotor cortical structure, function, and plasticity. According to this model, primary motor cortex, area 4, and primary somatosensory cortex, area …
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Primary Auditory Cortex is Required for Anticipatory Motor Response Open
The ability of the brain to predict future events based on the pattern of recent sensory experience is critical for guiding animal's behavior. Neocortical circuits for ongoing processing of sensory stimuli are extensively studied, but thei…
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The Nature of the Sensory Input to the Neonatal Rat Barrel Cortex Open
Sensory input plays critical roles in the development of the somatosensory cortex during the neonatal period. This early sensory input may involve: (1) stimulation arising from passive interactions with the mother and littermates and (2) s…
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Sensory cortex is optimized for prediction of future input Open
Neurons in sensory cortex are tuned to diverse features in natural scenes. But what determines which features neurons become selective to? Here we explore the idea that neuronal selectivity is optimized to represent features in the recent …
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Developmental 'awakening' of primary motor cortex to the sensory consequences of movement Open
Before primary motor cortex (M1) develops its motor functions, it functions like a somatosensory area. Here, by recording from neurons in the forelimb representation of M1 in postnatal day (P) 8–12 rats, we demonstrate a rapid shift in its…
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Stable Encoding of Visual Cues in the Mouse Retrosplenial Cortex Open
The rodent retrosplenial cortex (RSC) functions as an integrative hub for sensory and motor signals, serving roles in both navigation and memory. While RSC is reciprocally connected with the sensory cortex, the form in which sensory inform…
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Susceptibility of Primary Sensory Cortex to Spreading Depolarizations Open
Spreading depolarizations (SDs) are recognized as actors in neurological disorders as diverse as migraine and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Migraine aura involves sensory percepts, suggesting that sensory cortices might be intrinsically su…
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Anesthesia-induced loss of consciousness disrupts auditory responses beyond primary cortex Open
Significance We studied how anesthesia-induced loss of consciousness (LOC) affects processing of external sensory events at single-neuron resolution in epilepsy patients implanted with depth electrodes for clinical treatment. Just before e…
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Organization and somatotopy of corticothalamic projections from L5B in mouse barrel cortex Open
Significance In the somatosensory system, signals are transduced from peripheral sensors up to the cerebral cortex in a topographic manner, meaning that the relative spatial organization of the sensory receptors is represented by a map in …
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Delayed Maturation of Fast-Spiking Interneurons Is Rectified by Activation of the TrkB Receptor in the Mouse Model of Fragile X Syndrome Open
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is a leading cause of inherited intellectual disability, and the most common known cause of autism spectrum disorder. FXS is broadly characterized by sensory hypersensitivity a…
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Distinct Waking States for Strong Evoked Responses in Primary Visual Cortex and Optimal Visual Detection Performance Open
Variability in cortical neuronal responses to sensory stimuli and in perceptual decision making performance is substantial. Moment-to-moment fluctuations in waking state or arousal can account for much of this variability. Yet, this variab…
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Active information maintenance in working memory by a sensory cortex Open
Working memory is a critical brain function for maintaining and manipulating information over delay periods of seconds. It is debated whether delay-period neural activity in sensory regions is important for the active maintenance of inform…
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Age-Related Deterioration of Perineuronal Nets in the Primary Auditory Cortex of Mice Open
Age-related changes in inhibitory neurotransmission in sensory cortex may underlie deficits in sensory function. Perineuronal nets (PNNs) are extracellular matrix components that ensheath some inhibitory neurons, particularly parvalbumin p…
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Inferring Cortical Variability from Local Field Potentials Open
The responses of sensory neurons can be quite different to repeated presentations of the same stimulus. Here, we demonstrate a direct link between the trial-to-trial variability of cortical neuron responses and network activity that is ref…