Thalamocortical and corticocortical mechanisms for sleep-dependent visual learning

项目总结：将短暂的感官体验整合到持久的记忆中是一个基本的 大脑的功能，与突触的可塑性有关。睡眠对促进这一过程的重要性，以及 睡眠剥夺对它的破坏作用，近一个世纪以来一直受到重视。然而，它仍然 尚不清楚特定大脑回路活动中与睡眠相关的变化如何有助于感觉可塑性。 利用最近开发的行为自由的小鼠神经元活动的纵向记录的组合 光遗传策略是表征网络活动模式的新型计算工具，我们将测试 睡眠相关丘脑皮质活动模式在巩固简单形式中的必要性和充分性 依赖经验的可塑性。我们将测试网络振荡期间相干激发的假设 独特的NREM睡眠在促进丘脑外侧膝状体之间的可塑性中起着因果作用 (LGN)和初级视觉皮质(V1)在呈现一种新的视觉刺激之后。在这里，我们将有选择地 以特定状态的方式操纵皮质、丘脑皮质和皮质丘脑神经元群体。我们会 测量单个V1和LGN神经元对呈现的刺激的反应变化，以及行为 在视觉辨别任务的背景下，对呈现的刺激的反应。我们将测试神经元是否 选择性地响应视觉刺激在引导网络活动模式方面起着关键作用 随后的睡眠，作为电路可塑性的指导性机制。最后，我们将测试以下内容是否 视觉体验，V1和周边皮质(对视觉至关重要)之间的睡眠相关交流 识别记忆)是一种负责任的睡眠依赖辨别学习。

Project summary: Consolidating transient sensory experiences into long-lasting memories is a fundamental function of the brain, linked to synaptic plasticity. The importance of sleep for promoting this process, and the disruptive effect of sleep deprivation on it, have been appreciated for nearly a century. However, it remains unclear how sleep-associated changes in the activity of specific brain circuits contribute to sensory plasticity. Using a combination of longitudinal recordings of neuronal activity in freely-behaving mice, recently-developed optogenetic strategies, novel computational tools for characterizing network activity patterns, we will test the necessity and sufficiency of sleep-associated patterns of thalamocortical activity in consolidating a simple form of experience dependent plasticity. We will test the hypothesis that coherent firing during network oscillations unique NREM sleep plays a causal role in promoting plasticity between the thalamic lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and the primary visual cortex (V1) following presentation of a novel visual stimulus. Here we will selectively manipulate cortical, thalamocortical and corticothalamic neuronal populations in a state specific manner. We will measure both response changes in individual V1 and LGN neurons to the presented stimulus, and behavioral responses to the presented stimulus in the context of a visual discrimination task. We will test whether neurons that are selectively responsive to the visual stimulus play a critical role in guiding network activity patterns during subsequent sleep, acting as an instructive mechanism for circuit plasticity. Finally, we will test whether following visual experience, sleep-dependent communication between V1 and the perirhinal cortex (essential for visual recognition memory) is responsible sleep-dependent discrimination learning.