Neuronal Avalanches Across the Rat Somatosensory Barrel Cortex and the Effect of Single Whisker Stimulation

Since its first experimental signatures, the so called “critical brain hypothesis” has been extensively studied. Yet, actual foundations remain elusive. According to a widely accepted teleological reasoning, would be poised critical state optimize mapping of noisy and ever changing real-world inputs, thus suggesting that primary sensory cortical areas should critical. We investigated whether single barrel column somatosensory cortex anesthetized rat displays behavior. Neuronal avalanches were recorded across all layers in terms both multi-unit activities population local field potentials, their behavior during spontaneous activity compared one evoked by controlled whisker deflection. By applying maximum likelihood statistical method based on timeseries undersampling fit distributions, we show neuronal are power law distributed for potentials activity, with exponents spread along scaling line. Instead, after tactile stimulus, switches transient across-layers synchronization mode appears dominate representation input.