Seeing what the mouse sees with its vibrissae: a matter of behavioral state.
The behavioral state of an animal is accompanied by ongoing brain activity that primes neuronal circuitry to sensory inputs. While it should come as no surprise that the pattern of cortical activation is tied to behavioral states, only now has this dependence been imaged. In this issue of Neuron, Ferezou, Bolea, and Petersen show that the level and spatial extent of activation of vibrissa sensory cortex critically depend on behavioral context and mode of stimulation, i.e., passive versus active contact.
Curtis
John C
JC
Graduate Program in Computational Neuroscience, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
Kleinfeld
David
D
D000768:Anesthesia, General; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D051379:Mice; D012107:Research Design; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology; D014738:Vibrissae / Q000294:innervation*; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology