| Project/Area Number |
26640019
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Neurophysiology / General neuroscience
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| Research Institution | National Institute for Physiological Sciences |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2015)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥900,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥3,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥900,000)
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| Keywords | 大脳皮質視覚野 / 方位選択性コラム / 神経回路 / 微小神経回路 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
In mammals with higher visual functions, functional columns exist in the primary visual cortex. This study was conducted to investigate whether fine-scale networks of precisely interconnected excitatory neurons are included within a functional column in cat visual cortex. To this end, orientation columns in the visual cortex were mapped using in vivo intrinsic optical imaging. Thereafter, we analyzed the fine-scale networks in slices prepared from the imaged visual cortex, using photostimulation of cortical neurons with glutamate uncaging and dual whole-cell recordings from layer 2/3 pyramidal cells within the same orientation column. We found that pyramidal cell pairs shared many common inputs from adjacent excitatory neurons, when they were synaptically connected. Unconnected cell pairs received common inputs far less frequently, compared to connected cell pairs. These results suggest that fine-scale networks are embedded within the same functional column.
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