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Brain Structure and Function
Published in: Brain Structure and Function 7/2016

01-09-2016 | Original Article

Long, intrinsic horizontal axons radiating through and beyond rat barrel cortex have spatial distributions similar to horizontal spreads of activity evoked by whisker stimulation

Authors: B. A. Johnson, R. D. Frostig

Published in: Brain Structure and Function | Issue 7/2016

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Abstract

Stimulation of a single whisker evokes a peak of activity that is centered over the associated barrel in rat primary somatosensory cortex, and yet the evoked local field potential and the intrinsic signal optical imaging response spread symmetrically away from this barrel for over 3.5 mm to cross cytoarchitectonic borders into other “unimodal” sensory cortical areas. To determine whether long horizontal axons have the spatial distribution necessary to underlie this activity spread, we injected adeno-associated viral vectors into barrel cortex and characterized labeled axons extending from the injection site in transverse sections of flattened cortex. Combined qualitative and quantitative analyses revealed labeled axons radiating diffusely in all directions for over 3.5 mm from supragranular injection sites, with density declining over distance. The projection pattern was similar at four different cortical depths, including infragranular laminae. Infragranular vector injections produced patterns similar to the supragranular injections. Long horizontal axons were detected both using a vector with a permissive cytomegalovirus promoter to label all neuronal subtypes and using a calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II α vector to restrict labeling to excitatory cortical pyramidal neurons. Individual axons were successfully reconstructed from series of supragranular sections, indicating that they traversed gray matter only. Reconstructed axons extended from the injection site, left the barrel field, branched, and sometimes crossed into other sensory cortices identified by cytochrome oxidase staining. Thus, radiations of long horizontal axons indeed have the spatial characteristics necessary to explain horizontal activity spreads. These axons may contribute to multimodal cortical responses and various forms of cortical neural plasticity.
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Metadata
Title
Long, intrinsic horizontal axons radiating through and beyond rat barrel cortex have spatial distributions similar to horizontal spreads of activity evoked by whisker stimulation
Authors
B. A. Johnson
R. D. Frostig
Publication date
01-09-2016
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Brain Structure and Function / Issue 7/2016
Print ISSN: 1863-2653
Electronic ISSN: 1863-2661
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-015-1123-7

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