Does the skin tell the somatosensory cortex how to construct a map of the periphery?
When the muzzle of a mouse bears an occasional extra whisker, the corresponding barrelfield (in the contralateral somatosensory cortex) contains an extra barrel in a topologically equivalent place and vice versa. Since the pattern of vibrissal follicles is laid down 7 days before birth and that of the barrels 3 days after birth, the former pattern appears to be responsible for the establishment of the latter. We propose that the answer to the title's question is yes.
van der Loos
H
H
Institute of Anatomy, University of Lausanne, 9 rue du Bugnon, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Dörfl
J
J