CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY OF NEURONAL CIRCUITS IN NEOCORTEX

新皮质神经回路的细胞生理学

• 批准号: 3411562
• 负责人: Barry W Connors
• 金额: $ 7.51万
• 依托单位: BROWN UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1988
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1988-04-01 至 1993-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3411562
• 关键词: cerebral cortex; dyes; electrical potential; electrophysiology; laboratory rat; neural information processing; neuroanatomy; neurons; neurophysiology; somesthetic sensory cortex; synapses

The primary sensory areas of neocortex perform complex transformations of the information flowing into them. They are essential for normal perception and behavior, and it is generally agreed that the capabilities that are uniquely human, and uniquely mammalian, derive from the circuits of the neocortex. Under pathological conditions, such as a decrease in synaptic inhibition, the normal activity of a local neocortical circuit can be usurped by large, synchronized burst of epileptiform excitation in all of its neurons. In the primary somatosensory (SmI) area of the rat, neural operations are carried out by discrete, repeating units of interconnected neurons; each unit can be visually identified by a barrel-shaped aggregate of small cells in cortical layer IV. Cortical barrels are representative of a nearly ubiquitous property of neocortex in all mammals: a strongly vertical, or columnar, neuronal organization. The proposed research will investigate the morphological and physiological properties of neurons and their synaptic connections within rat barrel cortex. A method has been devised for visualizing individual barrels in living cortical slices in vitro. Specific investigation include: 1) Intracellular recordings plus dye injections to correlate distinctive membrane properties with the somadendritic shape and axon patterns of neurons, 2) Electrophysiological techniques and axonal labelling methods to delineate interlaminar and interbarrel connections, 3) Direct measurement of the characteristics of unitary synaptic potentials (the influence of one neuron upon one other neuron), 4) A test of the hypothesis that a subpopulation of middle layer bursting neurons initiates and disperses synchronized epileptiform activity. This interdisciplinary approach should provide a uniquely detailed view of the functional properties of a local neocortical area. The data obtained will contribute to the formulation of theories of cortical information processing, as well as suggest mechanisms for the genesis and control of partial seizures.

新皮层的主要感觉区域表现出复杂 流入其中的信息的转换。 他们是 对于正常的感知和行为至关重要，通常是 同意，独特而独特的能力 哺乳动物，源自新皮层的电路。 在下面 病理状况，例如突触抑制的减少， 当地新皮层电路的正常活动可以篡夺 在所有的总体上同步的同步癫痫样激发爆发 它的神经元。 在大鼠的主要体感（SMI）区域中， 神经操作是通过离散进行的，重复单位 互连神经元；每个单元可以通过视觉识别 皮质层IV中小细胞的桶形聚集体。 皮质桶代表了几乎普遍存在的特性 所有哺乳动物中的新皮层：强烈的垂直或柱状 神经元组织。 拟议的研究将研究形态学和 神经元的生理特性及其突触连接 在大鼠桶皮层内。 设计了一种方法 在体外生存皮质切片中可视化单个桶。 具体研究包括：1）细胞内记录加上 注射染料以将独特的膜特性与 神经元的体系形状和轴突模式，2） 电生理技术和轴突标记方法 划定层间和交界处连接，3）直接 测量单位突触电位的特征 （一个神经元对另一个神经元的影响），4） 中间层爆发的亚群的假设 神经元启动并分散同步的癫痫样活性。 这种跨学科的方法应提供独特的详细信息 局部新皮质区域的功能特性的视图。 这 获得的数据将有助于提出的理论 皮质信息处理，并建议用于 部分癫痫发作的起源和控制。