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Cited by 289Neural dynamics and brain functionNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchVisual perception and processing mechanisms

Dynamics of excitation and inhibition underlying stimulus selectivity in rat somatosensory cortex

Wilent, W Bryan, Contreras, Diego·2005·Nature Neuroscience
DOI 10.1038/nn1545
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Abstract

Neurons in sensory systems respond to stimuli within their receptive fields, but the magnitude of the response depends on specific stimulus features. In the rodent whisker system, the response magnitude to the deflection of a particular whisker is, in most cells, dependent on the direction of deflection. Here we use in vivo intracellular recordings from thalamorecipient neurons in layers 3 and 4 of the rat barrel cortex to elucidate the dynamics of the synaptic inputs underlying direction selectivity. We show that cells are direction selective despite a broadly tuned excitatory and inhibitory synaptic input. Selectivity emerges from a direction-dependent temporal shift of excitation relative to inhibition. For preferred direction deflections, excitation precedes inhibition, but as the direction diverges from the preferred, this separation decreases. Our results illustrate a mechanism by which the timing of the synaptic inputs, and not their relative peak amplitudes, primarily determine feature selectivity.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nn1545

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  • This mechanism is critical for representing whisker deflection velocity and direction selectivity in rodent barrel cortex and for producing cortical responses that more precisely represent sensory input timing.

    “This mechanism is critical for representing velocity and direction selectivity of whisker deflection in the rodent barrel cortex (Pinto et al., 2003; Wilent and Contreras, 2005) and producing cortical responses that more precisely represent the timing of sensory input (Gabernet et al., 2005; Higley and Contreras, 2006).”

    From GABAergic Interneurons in the Neocortex: From Cellular Properties to Circuits (2016) · cites this paper as Wilent and Contreras, 2005

  • Thalamocortical feedforward inhibition in barrel cortex contributes to layer 4 pyramidal cell feature selectivity by enhancing response differences between preferred and non-preferred stimuli, making cortex more discriminating than thalamus.

    “As such, thalamocortical FFI in barrel cortex participates in feature selectivity of L4 PCs by enhancing the differences in cortical responses between preferred and non-preferred stimuli (Pinto et al., 2003; Wilent and Contreras, 2005), thus making the cortex more discriminating than the thalamus.”

    From GABAergic Interneurons in the Neocortex: From Cellular Properties to Circuits (2016) · cites this paper as Wilent and Contreras, 2005

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Authors
Wilent, W. B., & Contreras, D.
Affiliations
University of Pennsylvania (US)
Corresponding author
Contreras, Diego
ORCID
Venue
Nature Neuroscience
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2005-09-11
Volume
8
Issue
10
Pages
1364-1370
ISSN
  • 1097-6256 (ISSN-L)
  • 1546-1726
DOI
10.1038/nn1545
OpenAlex
W1964031992
Cited by
288
References
47
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 15
FWCI
7.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Nature Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
Keywords
direction selectivity, barrel cortex, somatosensory cortex, whisker system, receptive fields, feature selectivity
MeSH terms
Action Potentials, Anesthetics, Local, Animals, Electric Conductivity, Electric Stimulation, Lidocaine, Male, Neural Inhibition, Neurons, Reaction Time, Somatosensory Cortex, Synapses, Time Factors, Vibrissae, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Nonlinear Dynamics, Rats

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