List of Past Events
Cortical circuits underlying tactile discrimination in mice
Dr. David J. Margolis
Monday, November 10, 2014, 12:00pm - 07:00pm
Rutgers University, Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience
My lab studies the neural circuitry that allows mice to detect sensory stimuli and perform sensory-guided discrimination tasks using their whiskers. I will discuss experiments in which mice are trained to discriminate rough and smooth textures in a Go-NoGo behavioral paradigm by licking for water rewards. Recent in vivo imaging results have identified distinct roles for neurons in primary somatosensory cortex (S1) that project to divergent cortical target areas, including secondary somatosensory cortex (S2) and primary motor cortex (M1). My presentation will focus on how activity changes occur in individual neurons and networks of cortical areas as mice learn this sensory-guided behavior, as well as on the in vivo neuroscience methods we use to measure and manipulate specific types of neurons.
