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Changes in S1 neural responses during tactile discrimination learning.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Wiest, MC; Thomson, E; Pantoja, J; Nicolelis, MAL
Published in: J Neurophysiol
July 2010

In freely moving rats that are actively performing a discrimination task, single-unit responses in primary somatosensory cortex (S1) are strikingly different from responses to comparable tactile stimuli in immobile rats. For example, in the active discrimination context prestimulus response modulations are common, responses are longer in duration and more likely to be inhibited. To determine whether these differences emerge as rats learned a whisker-dependent discrimination task, we recorded single-unit S1 activity while rats learned to discriminate aperture-widths using their whiskers. Even before discrimination training began, S1 responses in freely moving rats showed many of the signatures of active responses, such as increased duration of response and prestimulus response modulations. As rats subsequently learned the discrimination task, single unit responses changed: more cortical units responded to the stimuli, neuronal sensory responses grew in duration, and individual neurons better predicted aperture-width. In summary, the operant behavioral context changes S1 tactile responses even in the absence of tactile discrimination, whereas subsequent width discrimination learning refines the S1 representation of aperture-width.

Duke Scholars

Published In

J Neurophysiol

DOI

EISSN

1522-1598

Publication Date

July 2010

Volume

104

Issue

1

Start / End Page

300 / 312

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Video Recording
  • Vibrissae
  • Touch
  • Stereotaxic Techniques
  • Somatosensory Cortex
  • Rats
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Neurons
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Electrophysiological Phenomena
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Wiest, M. C., Thomson, E., Pantoja, J., & Nicolelis, M. A. L. (2010). Changes in S1 neural responses during tactile discrimination learning. J Neurophysiol, 104(1), 300–312. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00194.2010
Wiest, Michael C., Eric Thomson, Janaina Pantoja, and Miguel A. L. Nicolelis. “Changes in S1 neural responses during tactile discrimination learning.J Neurophysiol 104, no. 1 (July 2010): 300–312. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00194.2010.
Wiest MC, Thomson E, Pantoja J, Nicolelis MAL. Changes in S1 neural responses during tactile discrimination learning. J Neurophysiol. 2010 Jul;104(1):300–12.
Wiest, Michael C., et al. “Changes in S1 neural responses during tactile discrimination learning.J Neurophysiol, vol. 104, no. 1, July 2010, pp. 300–12. Pubmed, doi:10.1152/jn.00194.2010.
Wiest MC, Thomson E, Pantoja J, Nicolelis MAL. Changes in S1 neural responses during tactile discrimination learning. J Neurophysiol. 2010 Jul;104(1):300–312.

Published In

J Neurophysiol

DOI

EISSN

1522-1598

Publication Date

July 2010

Volume

104

Issue

1

Start / End Page

300 / 312

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Video Recording
  • Vibrissae
  • Touch
  • Stereotaxic Techniques
  • Somatosensory Cortex
  • Rats
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Neurons
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Electrophysiological Phenomena