BACKGROUND Cortical neurons implement a high frequency-specific modulation of subcortical nuclei that includes the cochlear nucleus. Anatomical studies show that corticofugal fibers terminating in the auditory thalamus and midbrain are mostly ipsilateral. Differently, corticofugal fibers terminating in the cochlear nucleus are bilateral, which fits to the needs of binaural hearing that improves...

During a critical period of postnatal age sensory experience has a profound effect on maturation of visual cortical wiring. Electrophysiological evidence is indicating a substantial effect of visual deprivation on the visual cortical response properties. In this study we evaluated effect of light deprivation during a limited time of postnatal age on two aspects of spatial (working and reference...

In human and non-human primates, motor timing is considered to be dictated by cerebellar control of cortical activity, relayed through the cerebellar-thalamo-cortical (CTC) system. This supposition relies on studies that documented impairments in patients animal models. However, we know very little about way information integrated circuitry affect commands. We addressed this question probing CT...

Brain activity during wakefulness is characterized by rapid fluctuations in neuronal responses. Whether these fluctuations play any role in modulating the accuracy of behavioral responses is poorly understood. Here, we investigated whether and how trial changes in the population response impact sensory coding in monkey V1 and perceptual performance. Although the responses of individual neurons ...

The cortical response of the cat to light fashes has been studied, the locus of greatest amplitude of response noted, and the conformation described. Recordings through the dura indicate that there is diminution of the response amplitude and reduction of localization caused by the dura. The effects of stimulus parameter changesy of application of strychnine locally, and of intravenous pentobarb...

To answer the question whether OFF response amplitude (firing rate) of visual cortical cells varies as a function of stimulus duration, a series of such cells from areas 17 and 18 of the cat were investigated with a stationary light bar, presented for different durations (10-3200 msec) over the receptive field. Out of a sample of 174 cells tested, 58 cells were found for which the OFF responses...

Astrocytes are a heterogeneous population of glial cells with multifaceted roles in the central nervous system. Recently, the new method for the clonal analysis Star Track evidenced the link between astrocyte heterogeneity and lineage. Here, we tested the morphological response to mechanical injury of clonally related astrocytes using the Star Track approach, which labels each cell lineage with...

The level of arousal in mammals is correlated with metabolic state and specific patterns of cortical neuronal responsivity. In particular, rhythmic transitions between periods of high activity (up phases) and low activity (down phases) vary between wakefulness and deep sleep/anesthesia. Current opinion about changes in cortical response state between sleep and wakefulness is split between neuro...

At the somatosensory periphery, slowly adapting type 1 (SA1) and rapidly adapting (RA) afferents respond very differently to step indentations: SA1 afferents respond throughout the entire stimulus interval (sustained response), whereas RA afferents respond only at stimulus onset (on response) and offset (off response). We recorded the responses of cortical neurons to step indentations and found...

This study characterized the spatiotemporal responses in ferret somatosensory cortex after sensory deprivation at different phases of cortical development. We hypothesized that cortical responses to stimulation of intact superficial radial nerve in adults will vary systematically according to maturation of thalamocortical relationships at the time of an ulnar nerve transection. Depending on the...