Project Details
Projekt
Corticofugal regulation of thalamic nuclei by the somatosensory cortex
Applicant
Professorin Dr. Denise Manahan-Vaughan
Subject Area
Experimental and Theoretical Network Neuroscience
Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
Term
since 2023
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 520284247
The rodent somatosensory cortex (S1) is finely tuned to interpret whisker vibrations such that spatial, object and tactile information is obtained. That in turn supports object identification and localization, as well as movement of the rodent through an environment. Whisker-generated information is processed by the thalamus before reaching S1 and respective motor structures of the brain. The neocortex comprises six layers, and although many studies have addressed information perception and integration within layers 1-5, much less is known about the role of layer 6 in somatosensory information processing. This structure is subdivided into layers 6A and 6B, both of which engage in corticothalamic control: whereas Layer 6A has been proposed to modulate ‘first-order’ sensory properties of the thalamus, layer 6B targets the posterior medial thalamus (POm), a structure that is believed to function as a higher-order relay that is modulated by corticofugal projections. Two layer 6 cell populations can be differentiated in S1 Layer 6, comprising cells that express the dopamine D1 receptor (Drd1), and cells that express Neurotensin receptor (Ntsr1). Preliminary work has indicated that these exhibit very distinct projection patterns to POm. In this project, using optogenetics and in vivo electrophysiological approaches in transgenic mice during whisker stimulation, we shall explore to what extent L6-Drd1 and L6-Ntsr1 cells differentially modulate whisking behavior. We shall test the hypothesis that these discrete cell populations within layer 6 subserve different aspects of corticofugal control of POm. Specifically, we shall assess to what extent these discrete corticofugal pathways to POm enable experience- and context-dependent modulation of information transfer from the thalamus to the somatosensory cortex.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
