Analysis of neural computation during sequence recognition and prediction in primary visual and auditory cortices.

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K16574
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Brain biometrics
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo (2016); National Institute for Basic Biology (2015)
• Principal Investigator: Ebina Teppei 東京大学, 大学院医学系研究科(医学部), 助教 (30611206)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 2光子イメージング / 興奮性ニューロン / 抑制性ニューロン / 想起

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Sensory perception often requires recognition and prediction of temporal sequences of sensory inputs. Neural networks processing the perception involves several subtypes of neurons, but little is known on how each subtype encodes the sequences. To answer this, we are developing methods to monitor neural responses in the cerebral cortex of awake mouse and to classify the neurons into either excitatory or inhibitory subtype. By expressing a calcium indicator, GCaMP6f, into several cortical sites, we could monitor the activity of neurons during performance of a behavior task by two-photon calcium imaging. In addition, we found that immunohistochemistry combined with recently reported CUBIC technique could localize the position of a subtype of neurons in a fixed brain area involving the imaging regions. We started to record the neural responses in the visual or auditory cortex during spatiotemporal sequence recognition and prediction, and to identify the subtypes of the neurons.

Free Research Field

神経生理学、バイオインフォマティクス