Functional Microcircuits of Sensory Neocortex

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IBN-9723967 PI: Swadlow The undisputed role of the cerebral cortex in perception, action and higher cognitive processes has led to an intense effort to understand the functional properties of this tissue. Major goals of this effort have been to understand the mechanisms whereby individual cortical neurons obtain their unique repertoire of response properties and how ensembles of cortical neurons interact to produce global perceptual and behavioral capabilities. The proposed research is aimed at understanding the mechanisms governing cortical function in the intact, awake thalamocortical somatosensory system. This work is aimed at understanding the transformations performed upon inputs to the cortex by the intracortical circuitry, the role of inhibitory interneurons in producing these transformations, and how these transformations lead to parallel and distinct efferent outflows. The activity of thalamo-cortical projection neurons, cortico-cortical and corticofugal efferent neurons and putative inhibitory interneurons will be simultaneously recorded, and inferences of connectivity derived from these methods will be further tested using microstimulation of presumptive presynaptic elements. Special emphasis will be placed on elucidating rules governing the strength and specificity of functional connections among the populations of thalamocortical and cortical neurons under study. The data obtained from these experiments will offer a unique view of the physiology of individual cortical neurons studied under natural conditions, and will provide insight into interactive networks of cortical neurons and their varied functional properties.