title: Sensory responses in the medial prefrontal cortex of anesthetized rats. Implications for sensory processing.
abstract: The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays a key role in higher functions such as memory and attention. In order to demonstrate sensory responses in the mPFC, we used electrophysiological recordings of urethane-anesthetized rats to record somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) or auditory-evoked potentials (AEPs) elicited by whisker deflections and click stimulation, respectively. Contralateral whisker stimulation or auditory stimuli were also applied to study sensory interference in the mPFC. Interference with other sensory stimuli or recent stimulation history reduced whisker responses in the infralimbic and prelimbic cortices of the ventral mPFC. This effect could be mediated by activation of parvalbumin (PV) interneurons since the effect was blocked by the P/Q calcium channel antagonist ω-agatoxin. In contrast, sensory interference or the recent stimulation history was not detected by the dorsal mPFC or the primary somatosensory cortex. Results obtained from retrograde tracer injections in the dorsal and ventral regions of the mPFC indicated that somatosensory and auditory sensory inputs may arrive at the dorsal mPFC through secondary sensory cortical areas, and through the insular and temporal cortical areas. The ventral mPFC may receive sensory information through the strong anatomical connections between the dorsal and ventral mPFC areas. In conclusion, results suggest mPFC plays an important role in sensory processing, which may have important implications in attentional and memory processes.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Anatomía, Histología y Neurociencia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesus
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martin-Cortecero
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Anatomía, Histología y Neurociencia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28029 Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: angel.nunez@uam.es.
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nuñez
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D060848:Agatoxins / Q000494:pharmacology; D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology; D020865:Calcium Channels, P-Type / Q000378:metabolism; D020907:Calcium Channels, Q-Type / Q000378:metabolism; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014520:Urethane / Q000494:pharmacology; D014738:Vibrissae / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D060848:Agatoxins; D018686:Anesthetics, Intravenous; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D020865:Calcium Channels, P-Type; D020907:Calcium Channels, Q-Type; D014520:Urethane
keywords: evoked potentials; infralimbic cortex; prelimbic cortex; sensory interference