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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 97/4/2992    most recent 00013.2007v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (9) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Borgdorff, A. J. Articles by Petersen, C. C. H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Borgdorff, A. J. Articles by Petersen, C. C. H.

Facilitating Sensory Responses in Developing Mouse Somatosensory Barrel Cortex

Laboratory of Sensory Processing, Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Science, SV-BMI-LSENS, Station 15, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

Submitted 5 January 2007; accepted in final form 3 February 2007

The sensory responses in the barrel cortex of mice aged postnatal day (P)7–P12 evoked by a single whisker deflection are smaller in amplitude and spread over a smaller area than those measured in P13–P21 mice. However, repetitive 10-Hz stimulation or paired pulse whisker stimulation in P7–P12 mice evoked facilitating sensory responses, contrasting with the depressing sensory responses observed in P13–P21 mice. This facilitation occurred during an interval ranging 300–1,000 ms after the first stimulus and was measured using whole cell recordings, voltage-sensitive dye imaging, and calcium-sensitive dye imaging. The facilitated responses were not only larger in amplitude but also propagated over a larger cortical area. The facilitation could be blocked by local application of pharmacological agents reducing cortical excitability. Local cortical microstimulation could substitute for the first whisker stimulus to produce a facilitated sensory response. The enhanced sensory responses evoked by repetitive sensory stimuli in P7–P12 mice may contribute to the activity-dependent specification of the developing cortical circuits. In addition, the facilitating sensory responses allow long integration times for sensory processing compatible with the slow behavior of mice during early postnatal development.

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