The effects of specific afferentation on the formation of the functional properties of neurons in the projection representation of the whiskers in the neocortex were studied. Vibrotactile sensitivity was restricted by daily clipping of the whiskers during the first three weeks of life. The qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the responses of neurons in the “lemniscal” layers (IV and Vb) and the “paralemniscal” layer (Va) to stimulation of the whiskers in young (27–40 days) and older (41–57 days) were studied. These experiments showed that 1) excessive excitatory responses and deficient inhibition were produced as a direct consequence of restricting the specific sensory input in young animals; 2) atypical responses were present in the “lemniscal” and “paralemniscal” layers in vibrissectomized animals, which may result from impairment of the distribution of thalamic afferents to the neocortex; 3) there was excessive inhibition in older vibrissectomized animals, i.e., actualization of inhibitory processes was a delayed consequence of vibrissectomy.
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Translated from Zhurnal Vysshei Nervnoi Deyatel’nosti imeni I. P. Pavlova, Vol. 60, No. 6, pp. 719–729, November–December, 2010.
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Sitnikova, E.Y. Effects of Early Sensory Experience on the Formation of the Functional Properties of Neurons in the Whisker Projection Area in the Rat Neocortex. Neurosci Behav Physi 42, 353–361 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-012-9574-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-012-9574-2