Neural circuits underlying sensory association functions in mice

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project Area: Mesoscopic neurocircuitry: towards understanding of the functional and structural basis of brain information processing
• Project/Area Number: 22115011
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Review Section: Biological Sciences
• Research Institution: Niigata University
• Principal Investigator: SHIBUKI Katsuei 新潟大学, 脳研究所, 教授 (40146163)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): HISHIDA Ryuichi 新潟大学, 脳研究所, 准教授 (90313551) ; TOHMI Manavu 新潟大学, 脳研究所, 助教 (10401770) ; TSUKANO Hiroaki 新潟大学, 脳研究所, 助教 (90624338) ; WATANABE Kenji 新潟大学, 脳研究所, 特任助教 (80609272) ; YOSHITAKE Kohei 新潟大学, 脳研究所, 特任助教 (60649218)
• Project Period (FY): 2010-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 感覚連合野 / 高次視覚野 / 短期記憶 / 細胞接着因子 / マウス / 光学的機能イメージング / 行動解析

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is a part of the higher visual cortices in the dorsal pathway. We found that PPC was responsible for the integration of spatial information obtained from the eyes and whiskers in mice. PPC was also responsible for short-term memory of visual spatial information. In contrast, higher visual cortices in the ventral pathway were responsible for short-term memory of shape information, and for the integration of visual and auditory information. These functions were dependent on clustered protocadherin alpha, neuro-specific cell adhesion molecules. It is suggested that common neural circuits, dependent on clustered protocadherins, work as short-term memory circuits to achieve these functions. The sensory information, kept as sustained neural activities in the circuits, is likely to induce related neural activities in the wide brain areas connected with higher visual cortices. The activity complex may be regarded as the neural correlate of visual awareness.

Free Research Field

神経科学