Dataset Information

Rapid stimulus-evoked astrocyte Ca2+ elevations and hemodynamic responses in mouse somatosensory cortex in vivo.

ABSTRACT: Increased neuron and astrocyte activity triggers increased brain blood flow, but controversy exists over whether stimulation-induced changes in astrocyte activity are rapid and widespread enough to contribute to brain blood flow control. Here, we provide evidence for stimulus-evoked Ca(2+) elevations with rapid onset and short duration in a large proportion of cortical astrocytes in the adult mouse somatosensory cortex. Our improved detection of the fast Ca(2+) signals is due to a signal-enhancing analysis of the Ca(2+) activity. The rapid stimulation-evoked Ca(2+) increases identified in astrocyte somas, processes, and end-feet preceded local vasodilatation. Fast Ca(2+) responses in both neurons and astrocytes correlated with synaptic activity, but only the astrocytic responses correlated with the hemodynamic shifts. These data establish that a large proportion of cortical astrocytes have brief Ca(2+) responses with a rapid onset in vivo, fast enough to initiate hemodynamic responses or influence synaptic activity.

SUBMITTER: Lind BL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3845114 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Rapid stimulus-evoked astrocyte Ca2+ elevations and hemodynamic responses in mouse somatosensory cortex in vivo.

Lind Barbara Lykke BL Brazhe Alexey R AR Jessen Sanne Barsballe SB Tan Florence C C FC Lauritzen Martin J MJ

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20131111 48

Increased neuron and astrocyte activity triggers increased brain blood flow, but controversy exists over whether stimulation-induced changes in astrocyte activity are rapid and widespread enough to contribute to brain blood flow control. Here, we provide evidence for stimulus-evoked Ca(2+) elevations with rapid onset and short duration in a large proportion of cortical astrocytes in the adult mouse somatosensory cortex. Our improved detection of the fast Ca(2+) signals is due to a signal-enhanci ...[more]

PMID: 24218625

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Project description:Lateralization is a hallmark of somatosensory processing in the mammalian brain. However, in addition to their contralateral representation, unilateral tactile stimuli also modulate neuronal activity in somatosensory cortices of the ipsilateral hemisphere. The cellular organization and functional role of these ipsilateral stimulus responses in awake somatosensory cortices, especially regarding stimulus coding, are unknown. Here, we targeted silicon probe recordings to the vibrissa region of primary (S1) and secondary (S2) somatosensory cortex of awake head-fixed mice of either sex while delivering ipsilateral and contralateral whisker stimuli. Ipsilateral stimuli drove larger and more reliable responses in S2 than in S1, and activated a larger fraction of stimulus-responsive neurons. Ipsilateral stimulus-responsive neurons were rare in layer 4 of S1, but were located in equal proportion across all layers in S2. Linear classifier analyses further revealed that decoding of the ipsilateral stimulus was more accurate in S2 than S1, whereas S1 decoded contralateral stimuli most accurately. These results reveal substantial encoding of ipsilateral stimuli in S1 and especially S2, consistent with the hypothesis that higher cortical areas may integrate tactile inputs across larger portions of space, spanning both sides of the body.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Tactile information obtained by one side of the body is represented in the activity of neurons of the opposite brain hemisphere. However, unilateral tactile stimulation also modulates neuronal activity in the other, or ipsilateral, brain hemisphere. This ipsilateral activity may play an important role in the representation and processing of tactile information, in particular when the sense of touch involves both sides of the body. Our work in the whisker system of awake mice reveals that neocortical ipsilateral activity, in particular that of deep layer excitatory neurons of secondary somatosensory cortex (S2), contains information about the presence and the velocity of unilateral tactile stimuli, which supports a key role for S2 in integrating tactile information across both body sides.

Dataset Information

Rapid stimulus-evoked astrocyte Ca2+ elevations and hemodynamic responses in mouse somatosensory cortex in vivo.

Publications

Rapid stimulus-evoked astrocyte Ca2+ elevations and hemodynamic responses in mouse somatosensory cortex in vivo.

Similar Datasets

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