title: The many layers of specification and plasticity in the neocortex.
abstract: In this issue of Neuron, Li et al. (2013) show that transgenically eliminating thalamocortical neurotransmission disrupts the formation of barrel columns in the somatosensory cortex and cortical lamination, providing evidence for the importance of extrinsic activity-dependent factors in cortical development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences and Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA. Electronic address: barth@cmu.edu.
authors.forename: Alison L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Barth
authors.forename: Sandra J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kuhlman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology*; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000254:growth & development*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D018698:Glutamic Acid