Calcium imaging to analyze circuit
Functional imaging with cellular resolution reveals precise micro-architecture in visual cortex (2005), Ohki K. et al.Nature 433, 597 - 603 (Reid lab.)
Congratulations, Ohki-san!!!!! The column structure in the cortex has fascinated many brain researchers: why are cells that response to similar stimulations clustered to form a column ? Using a combination of bulk loading of AM-calcium sensor and a two-photon microscope, Ohki et al. meausred the orientation selectivity of the visual cortex at a single-cell resolution. The sharpness of the boundary between two orientation columns is almost shocking. Supposedly the input orientation map is much broader as dendritic arbor spreads over hundreds of microns. It would be interesting how a single cell process inputs to "choose" one (or sometimes two) selectivity. Another interesting aspect of the orientation selectivity is that mice have poorly organized structure in contrast to cats. To perform complicated information processing, it may be required for animals to have higher organization of a column.
Congratulations, Ohki-san!!!!! The column structure in the cortex has fascinated many brain researchers: why are cells that response to similar stimulations clustered to form a column ? Using a combination of bulk loading of AM-calcium sensor and a two-photon microscope, Ohki et al. meausred the orientation selectivity of the visual cortex at a single-cell resolution. The sharpness of the boundary between two orientation columns is almost shocking. Supposedly the input orientation map is much broader as dendritic arbor spreads over hundreds of microns. It would be interesting how a single cell process inputs to "choose" one (or sometimes two) selectivity. Another interesting aspect of the orientation selectivity is that mice have poorly organized structure in contrast to cats. To perform complicated information processing, it may be required for animals to have higher organization of a column.
posted by Ryohei at 1:07 PM
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