Prenatal thalamic waves regulate cortical area size prior to sensory processing.
The cerebral cortex is organized into specialized sensory areas, whose initial territory is determined by intracortical molecular determinants. Yet, sensory cortical area size appears to be fine tuned during development to respond to functional adaptations. Here we demonstrate the existence of a prenatal sub-cortical mechanism that regulates the cortical areas size in mice. This mechanism is mediated by spontaneous thalamic calcium waves that propagate among sensory-modality thalamic nuclei up to the cortex and that provide a means of communication among sensory systems. Wave pattern alterations in one nucleus lead to changes in the pattern of the remaining ones, triggering changes in thalamic gene expression and cortical area size. Thus, silencing calcium waves in the auditory thalamus induces Rorβ upregulation in a neighbouring somatosensory nucleus preluding the enlargement of the barrel-field. These findings reveal that embryonic thalamic calcium waves coordinate cortical sensory area patterning and plasticity prior to sensory information processing.
Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain.
Verónica
V
Moreno-Juan
Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain.
Anton
A
Filipchuk
Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain.
Noelia
N
Antón-Bolaños
Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain.|Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal.
Cecilia
C
Mezzera
Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain.
Henrik
0000-0002-6242-6344
H
Gezelius
Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain.
Belen
B
Andrés
Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain.
Luis
L
Rodríguez-Malmierca
Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain.
Rafael
R
Susín
NCCR frontiers in Genetics, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.|Department of Biochemistry, Sciences II, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
Olivier
O
Schaad
Division of Neurogenetics, National Institute of Genetics (NIG), Mishima 411-8540, Japan.|Department of Genetics, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Mishima 411-8540, Japan.
Takuji
T
Iwasato
Urologische Klinik und Zentrale Klinische Forschung, Klinikum der Universität Freiburg, Breisacherstrasse 66, 79106 Freiburg, Germany.|BIOSS Centre of Biological Signalling Studies, Albert Ludwigs University, 79106 Freiburg, Germany.|Deutsches Konsortium für Translationale Krebsforschung (DKTK), Standort Freiburg, 79108 Freiburg, Germany.
Roland
R
Schüle
Department of Biology and National Center for Behavioral Genomics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, USA.|Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, HHMI, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York 10032, USA.
Michael
M
Rutlin
Department of Biology and National Center for Behavioral Genomics, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, USA.
Sacha
S
Nelson
Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.
Sebastien
S
Ducret
Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain.
Miguel
0000-0001-9885-6699
M
Valdeolmillos
Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.
Filippo M
FM
Rijli
Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), 03550 Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain.
Guillermina
G
López-Bendito
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D057093:Orphan Nuclear Receptors / Q000235:genetics; D011247:Pregnancy; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D020651:Ventral Thalamic Nuclei / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D014785:Vision, Ocular
D057093:Orphan Nuclear Receptors; D002118:Calcium