title: Active cortical dendrites modulate perception.
abstract: There is as yet no consensus concerning the neural basis of perception and how it operates at a mechanistic level. We found that Ca2+activity in the apical dendrites of a subset of layer 5 (L5) pyramidal neurons in primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in mice is correlated with the threshold for perceptual detection of whisker deflections. Manipulating the activity of apical dendrites shifted the perceptual threshold, demonstrating that an active dendritic mechanism is causally linked to perceptual detection.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biology, Neuronal Plasticity, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, D-10117, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Naoya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Institute for Synaptic Physiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, D-20251, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Oertner
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biology, Experimental Biophysics, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, D-10115, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hegemann
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biology, Neuronal Plasticity, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, D-10117, Berlin, Germany. matthew.larkum@hu-berlin.de.
authors.forename: Matthew E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Larkum
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D003712:Dendrites / Q000502:physiology*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology*; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D014738:Vibrissae / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium