Neuron
-
Frontal cortex plays a central role in the control of voluntary movements, which are typically guided by sensory input. Here, we investigate the function of mouse whisker primary motor cortex (wM1), a frontal region defined by dense innervation from whisker primary somatosensory cortex (wS1). Optogenetic stimulation of wM1 evokes rhythmic whisker protraction (whisking), whereas optogenetic inactivation of wM1 suppresses initiation of whisking. ⋯ Interestingly, optogenetic inactivation of wS1 caused hyperpolarization and reduced firing in wM1, together with reduced whisking. Optogenetic stimulation of wS1 drove activity in wM1 with complex dynamics, as well as evoking long-latency, wM1-dependent whisking. Our results advance understanding of a well-defined frontal region and point to an important role for sensory input in controlling motor cortex.
-
Abnormal pain sensitivity is commonly associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and affects the life quality of ASD individuals. SHANK3 deficiency was implicated in ASD and pain dysregulation. Here, we report functional expression of SHANK3 in mouse dorsal root ganglion (DRG) sensory neurons and spinal cord presynaptic terminals. ⋯ Furthermore, capsaicin-induced spontaneous pain, inward currents in DRG neurons, and synaptic currents in spinal cord neurons are all reduced after Shank3 haploinsufficiency. Finally, partial knockdown of SHANK3 expression in human DRG neurons abrogates TRPV1 function. Our findings reveal a peripheral mechanism of SHANK3, which may underlie pain deficits in SHANK3-related ASDs.
-
The ability to reinstate neuronal assemblies representing mnemonic information is thought to require their consolidation through offline reactivation during sleep/rest. To test this, we detected cell assembly patterns formed by repeated neuronal co-activations in the mouse hippocampus during exploration of spatial environments. We found that the reinstatement of assembly patterns representing a novel, but not a familiar, environment correlated with their offline reactivation and was impaired by closed-loop optogenetic disruption of sharp wave-ripple oscillations. ⋯ The context-dependent reinstatement of assembly patterns whose expression did not gain in strength beyond the first few minutes of spatial encoding was not dependent on reactivation. This demonstrates that the hippocampus can hold concurrent representations of space that markedly differ in their encoding dynamics and their dependence on offline reactivation for consolidation. VIDEO ABSTRACT.