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Open Access 01-11-2017 | Original Article

A biological blueprint for the axons of superficial layer pyramidal cells in cat primary visual cortex

Authors: Kevan A. C. Martin, Stephan Roth, Elisha S. Rusch

Published in: Brain Structure and Function | Issue 8/2017

Abstract

Pyramidal cells in the superficial layers of neocortex of higher mammals form a lateral network of axon clusters known as the ‘daisy’ network. The role of these axon clusters remains speculative and we still lack a comprehensive quantitative description of the single neurons forming the daisy or their heterogeneity. We filled intracellularly 50 superficial layer pyramidal neurons in the cat primary visual cortex and reconstructed the axonal tree and their synaptic boutons in 3D. Individual bouton clusters were identified using an objective mean-shift algorithm. By parameterizing the morphology of these 50 axonal trees and the 217 bouton clusters they formed, we were able to extract one set of relatively constant parameters and another set of variable parameters. Both sets combined allowed us to outline a comprehensive biological blueprint of superficial layer pyramidal neurons. Overall, our detailed analysis supports the hypothesis that pyramidal neurons use their lateral clusters to combine differential contextual cues, required for context-dependent processing of natural scenes.

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Title: A biological blueprint for the axons of superficial layer pyramidal cells in cat primary visual cortex
Authors: Kevan A. C. Martin
Stephan Roth
Elisha S. Rusch
Publication date: 01-11-2017
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Brain Structure and Function / Issue 8/2017
Print ISSN: 1863-2653
Electronic ISSN: 1863-2661
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-017-1410-6

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

A biological blueprint for the axons of superficial layer pyramidal cells in cat primary visual cortex

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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