http://informahealthcare.com/smr

ISSN: 0899-0220 (print), 1369-1651 (electronic)

Somatosens Mot Res, Early Online: 1–6

2014 Informa UK Ltd. DOI: 10.3109/08990220.2014.882303

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

An ocean full of BARRELS: Barrels XXVI meeting report

Philip Chu

, Chia-Chien Chen

, & Joshua C. Brumberg

1,3,4

Neuropsychology PhD Program (Psychology), The Graduate Center, CUNY, New York, NY, USA,

Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental

Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA,

Department of Psychology, Queens College, CUNY, Flushing, NY, USA, and

Neuroscience PhD Program (Biology), The Graduate Center, CUNY, New York, NY, USA

Abstract

The 26th annual Barrels meeting was convened on the campus of the University of California

San Diego, not far from the shores of the Pacific Ocean. The meeting focused on three main

themes: the structure and function of the thalamic reticular nucleus, the neurovasculature

system and its role in brain metabolism, and the origins and functions of cortical GABAergic

interneurons. In addition to the major themes, there were short talks, a data blitz, and a poster

session which highlighted the diversity and quality of the research ongoing in the rodent

whisker-to-barrel system.

Keywords

Barrel cortex, GABAergic interneurons,

neurovasculature, thalamic reticular

nucleus, whiskers

History

Received 18 December 2013

Accepted 20 December 2013

Published online 6 February 2014

The 26th annual Barrels meeting was hosted in the Atkinson

Auditorium on the campus of the University of California

San Diego in sunny La Jolla, California on Thursday,

7 November and Friday, 8 November 2013. The meeting

witnessed 94 attendees from 11 countries being presented

with the latest findings in the rodent whisker-to-barrel system.

The conference focused on three main themes: the structure

and function of the thalamic reticular nucleus, the neurovas-

culature system and its role in brain metabolism, and the

origins and functions of cortical GABAergic interneurons.

For a detailed listing of the talks and speakers, please consult

the Appendix.

Thalamic reticular nucleus

The first day opened with Chris Moore (Brown University)

moderating a session on the synaptic and circuit dynamics

of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN). He reminded the

audience of the anatomical location of the TRN and how

from its central position it can modulate many aspects of brain

processing such as attention and rhythmic oscillations. As a

final note he pointed out that traditionally the TRN had been

assumed to be a monolithic structure but recent data have

shown that not all TRN neurons respond in the same manner

to identical stimuli.

The first speaker Michael Beierlein (University of Texas

Medical School at Houston) highlighted the differential

impacts of cholinergic input into the TRN from the basal

forebrain vs. the brainstem. Based on anatomical data the

basal forebrain cholinergic inputs should be considered

similar to classical synapses such as those made by

glutamatergic inputs and not like diffuse inputs that are

traditional of neuromodulators. The TRN is one of the few

brain structures that receive cholinergic input from both the

nucleus basalis of meynert (NBM) and the cholinergic

brainstem nuclei. In a series of studies it was shown that

following stimulation of NBM afferents there is activation

of a fast inward nicotinic response followed by a long

outward muscarinic response. In some cases cholinergic input

is sufficient to induce post-synaptic action potentials. In a

second set of studies the reciprocal connection between

TRN and the ventral basal thalamic complex (VB) was

investigated. It was concluded that TRN inputs onto VB

neurons showed strong divergence influencing many VB

neurons whereas VB connections to TRN show little

divergence. The next speaker, Anita Lu

thi (University of

Lausanne), highlighted how single channel conductances in

the TRN can impact sleep behavior. Initially, the differences

between human and rodent sleep were detailed, with an

explanation on how rodents exhibit much more frequent

transitions and how sleep has been shown to be important

in synaptic development and learning. Using a synthesis

of whole cell and field recordings in wild type and transgenic

animals it was shown that the interplay of the calcium

channel Ca

3.3 and the Ca

-dependent K

channel SK2

regulate the bursting behavior of TRN cells. Specifically,

in Ca

3.3 knockout animals there are fewer bursts and in

SK2 overexpressing animals there are more bursts observed

in TRN neurons. The impact on sleep behavior was assessed

in vivo and it was seen that SK2 overexpressing mice

showed fewer transitions during their sleep phase and that

they were harder to arouse in response to auditory tones.

Correspondence: J. C. Brumberg, PhD, Department of Psychology,

Queens College, CUNY, 65–30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing, NY 11367,

USA. Tel: +1 718 997 3541. Fax: +1 718 997 3257. E-mail:

joshua.brumberg@qc.cuny.edu

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Finally, Michael Halassa (Massachusetts Institute of

Technology) presented data from in vivo recordings from

TRN cells. Using optogenetic techniques it was shown that

when TRN cells are activated they evoke bursting behavior

in ventral posterior medial (VPM) thalamic cells. In awake

behaving animals it was demonstrated that some TRN cell

firings are correlated with ongoing spindle behavior and

some are not. Some TRN neurons showed correlated firing

to behavioral tests, while others did not. The latter two results

taken together provide evidence that TRN neurons have

heterogeneous functions.

Short talks

Following a short break in the rejuvenating sun, Matthew

Diamond (SISSA, Trieste, Italy) moderated the f irst set of

short (15 min) talks. First up was Carsten Pfef fer (University

of California San Diego) whose talk addressed the issue of

inhibition of inhibitory cells within the mouse visual cortex.

Using genetic techniques to label distinct GABAergic

populations along with an adenovir us tagged with channel

rhodopsin, the interconnectivity of these cells was addressed.

Using single-cell polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from the

nuclei of the recorded cells it was possible to identify five

classes of GABAergic neurons in layers 2/3 and 5. In sum,

vasointestinal peptide (VIP)

neurons predominantly inhib-

ited somatostatin

neurons, parvalbumin

neurons inhibited

other parvalbumin

neurons and pyramidal cells whereas

somatostatin

cells inhibited all classes of cells except

somatostatin

neurons. Next, Robin Wagener (University

of Medicine, Goettingen, Germany) showed that in the

severely disorganized cortex of the reeler mouse it was still

possible to have intact thalamocortical inputs. Using mole-

cular markers that differentiate cortical laminae it was shown

that thalamocortical axons target layer 4 fated neurons and

using optogenetics it was possible to show that these synapses

can be activated and lead to columnar-like activation in

the reeler mouse. The short talk session was concluded by

Hong Li (Yale University) who demonstrated that the proper

development of barrel cortex requires thalamocortical neuro-

transmission. A double knockout mouse was constructed

where glutamate receptors VGlut1 and VGlut2 were deleted

and it was shown that somatotopy was disrupted when the

resultant brains were stained with Nissl or the thalamocortical

afferents were analyzed despite the fact that within these

animals the trigeminal and thalamic nuclei develop normally.

Further analysis of these animals showed that layer 4 was

reduced in width and it had fewer stellate cells.

Following lunch Dirk Schubert (Radboud University,

the Netherlands) moderated another session of short talks.

Leading off was Matthew Diamond (SISSA, Trieste, Italy)

who defined the issue of what the rodent is sensing through its

whiskers in a neuroethological context, specifically can it

when living in underground tunnels detect vibrations made

by predators above the ground. To that end, a behavioral

test was devised where different vibrations were presented to

the left vs. right whisker pads which the rat was trained to

discriminate. Rats were able to make discriminations at delays

of up to 8 s (humans could perform a comparable task with

delays up to 12 s). Recordings from anterior motor cor tical

regions (M2) showed that some neurons responded to the

go signal and based on their firing rates it was possible to

predict the behavior of the animal. Matthew Evans

(University of Sheffield, UK) considered issues concerning

how the firing rates of cortical neurons can be interpreted

based on different encoding schemes. A key concept was

the idea that sensory systems are tuned to the state of the

environment they are interacting with. To attack this problem

a four-stage program was proposed of measurement (done by

mechanoreceptors), preprocessing (neuronal tuning curve

distributions), representation (neuronal tuning curve shapes),

and inference (cortical outputs). Following the short talks,

Joshua C. Brumberg (Queens College, CUNY) moderated

the annual data blitz where attendees presented their latest

results in quick secession before the meeting adjourned to the

poster session and finally an alfresco dinner by the sea.

Neurovasculature coupling

The second day of Barrels XXVI began with an introduction

and then moderation by David Kleinfeld on the topic of

neurovascular structure and control of brain metabolism.

Serge Charpak (University Paris V) began the first talk of

the morning with work demonstrating the ability of 2-photon

phosphorescence lifetime microscopy to image the partial

pressure of oxygen (PO

) at micron-scale resolution in the

olfactory bulb of rats. He found that PO

levels peak in

individual erythrocytes and that PO

levels between two

peaks represents the PO

levels existent in the neuropil.

He presented in vivo data from chronically imaged rats and

found that sniffing an odor selectively resulted in a PO

decrease prior to functional hyperemia in the nerve layer

of the glomeruli. He emphasized that the dip that is seen in

functional imaging techniques prior to hyperemia, such as

those seen in fMRI, is reflected in the micron scale within

capillaries and suggested that measuring the prehyperemia

‘‘dip’’ could be a way to gain higher temporal resolution

in functional imaging studies. The second talk of the day was

given by Anna Devor (University of California San Diego

and the Harvard Medical School) who began by noting the

overarching goal of using model systems to understand the

human brain. Using 2-photon microscopy she presented

data that blood vessel dilation speed is specific to cortical

depth and branch order. Specifically, that deeper cortical

layers dilate faster than superficial layers, emphasizing that

although layer 4 is thought to be the most metabolically

active, it does not have the fastest dilating vessels. It was then

demonstrated that local glutamate application caused dilation

of vessels in layer 1 and that astrocyte calcium signaling was

locked to vascular dilation patterns. Interestingly, astrocyte

activity was shown to peak after maximum vasodilatation,

and thus astrocytes appear too slow to control vasculature

behavior. Further, using an IP

R2-knockout mouse, in which

astrocyte signaling is blocked in response to mGluR activity,

it was shown that dilation still occurred. Taken together these

data suggest that astrocytes are not playing a direct role

in regulating vasodilation. She then went on to propose a

hypothesis of local signaling within compartments of neurons

that may selectively secrete prostaglandins. Next, Catherine

Hall (University College London) differentiated the role of

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pericytes on capillaries as opposed to the smooth muscle

surrounding arterioles. An introduction into pericyte physiol-

ogy showed that depolarizing activity constricts them

and their associated capillary which they ensheathe. Using

time sequence videography it was possible to follow the

sequence of propagation starting from capillary dilation to

arteriole. Following ischemic conditions of low cerebral

blood flow (CBF) a transient rebound to high levels of CBF

occurs, which is then followed by a prolonged decrease in

CBF. Using a cocktail of glutamate antagonists that prevent

pericyte death and their prolonged contraction during

ischemia, she showed that pericytes regulate the prolonged

period of low CBF after ischemia. The final presentation

for the morning session was given by Philbert S. Tsai

(University of California San Diego), who showcased a

method of reconstructing all the vasculature within the

barrel cortex using all-optical histology. Using a community

analysis algorithm, he demonstrated that in contrast to

classical work from Thomas Woolsey, microvasculatures

form a continuous network within the barrel cor tex and that

the high vein to artery ratio provides low resistance sinks to

prevent lateral flow in the vasculature. Their data were

verified against in vivo data and modeled to show that passive

flow dynamics can explain much of the cerebral vasculature

flow without most of the active processes. Then, in response

to a previous speaker, Serge Charpak stepped forward to

present a new GcAMP mouse crossed with a connexin

reporter line and showed preliminary data that astrocytes

can in fact respond quickly, but made no argument that their

activity is coupled to the vasculature.

Short talks

A short discussion and coffee break was followed by short

platform talks introduced and moderated by Robert Sachdev

(Yale University School of Medicine). Christian L. Ebbesen

(Humboldt University) began the session by sharing his

results using tetrode recordings to show changes in vibrissa

motor cortex (VMC) during social facial touching among

rats. Specifically, he presented findings of decreased level of

activity in the VMC during social facial touching, where the

effect was greater for males than for females and stimulating

the VMC decreased social facial touching. Jerry L. Chen

(University of Zurich) followed up by presenting data on the

relationship between long-range projecting neurons and local

circuits in vivo using 2-photon calcium imaging and viral

retrograde tracers injected into S1. Using the go, no-go and

pole location discrimination behavioral tasks, he found

that S1 ! S2 projecting neurons show more touch-related

responses during texture discrimination and S1 ! M1 pro-

jecting neurons showed greater touch-related responses

during object localization. It was also demonstrated that

some cells could discriminate between hits vs. misses during

discrimination tasks and that depended on whether the

forward projection was to S2 or M1. The final short platform

talk of the day was given by Bettina Joachimsthaler (Werner

Reichardt Center for Integrative Neuroscience) who used

in vivo 2-photon imaging of dendritic spines during a classic

eye-blinking task using a whisker stimulus as the conditioned

stimulus (CS). She found that the CS whisker column showed

a decrease in absolute spine number and increase in spine

turnover.

After the lunch break, the short platform talks were

moderated by Bryan (Mac) Hooks (Janelia Farm Research

Campus). Robert Sachdev (Yale University School of

Medicine) presented data demonstrating that although net-

work activity and local field potentials fluctuated rhythmi-

cally, the spontaneous activities were not directly correlated

with changes in blood flow. It was determined that

spontaneous neuronal activity and blood flow rate are not

necessarily coupled in linear fashion. Alan Urban (INSERM)

followed by introducing whole brain functional sonography, a

non-invasive imaging modality that is based on micro-

Doppler effect that offers both high spatial and temporal

resolutions. Using this imaging technique, it was demon-

strated that stimulation of the whiskers can change the

cerebral blood volume (CBV) by 20%. Using the correlative

map to investigate the anatomical functionality of the barrel

cortex, the changes in CBV were positively correlated with

the number of pulses and was also shown to be temporally

specific to stimulation. Next, Simon Musall (University of

Zurich) showed that using an optogenetics approach, adapta-

tion in rat barrel cortex is frequency dependent. It was shown

that rats can detect and discriminate trains of light pulses

with high reliability. When there is adaptation in whisker

response, the discrimination rate is decreased and when the

light-activated adaption is absent, the discrimination rate is

increased. Therefore, it was suggested that the adaption

in pulses might be responsible for desensitization in tactile

detection. Last, Simon Peron (Janelia Farm Research

Campus) showed that, using the large-scale calcium imaging

method, it is possible to quantitatively understand the neural

coding of behaving mice. Some neurons exhibit touch-related

activity, while some fire all the time. Approximately 25% of

the neurons stay relatively silent, while 30–40% of neurons

show touch-related activities in layers 2/3, 4, and 5, and

the rest were classified as neurons responding to whisking.

Neuronal activity was sparse in layers 2/3 and denser for layer

5 that responded to touch, and a surpr isingly low (55%)

percentage of neurons in the principal whisker were

responsible for coding of touch-related activities, and the

touch representation rate declined as a function away from

the principal whisker. The session concluded with a vigorous

discussion, followed by a coffee break.

GABAergic interneurons

The final afternoon session focused on the origin and role

of cortical interneurons which was moderated and introduced

by Jochen Staiger (Georg-August-Universita

t). He reminded

the audience about the birth of inhibitory neurons in the

medial ganglion eminence and their long migrator y route

during development into the cerebral cortex. The audience

received a very comprehensive review on the many categories

of inhibitory neurons regarding the heterogeneity in their

molecular profiles and functional roles in the cortex.

The initial speaker was Gordon Fishel (New York

University), who showed input-specific control of cortical

circuit assembly, especially regarding three subtypes of

inhibitory neurons: VIP

, calretinin

, and reelin

, and how

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the differential expression of these inhibitory neurons alters

the morphological development of neurogliaform in the

superficial layers of the cerebral cortex. It was found that

silencing reelin positive cells during the first postnatal week

led to specific and significant mor phological alterations on

the neurogliaforms, while silencing VIP

inhibitory neurons

had minimal effects. Further more, it was determined that

this morphological development is also dependent on proper

sensory and glutamatergic input. This was based on the

finding that whisker plucking resulted in alterations of the

morphology of neurogliaform cells, particularly retraction

of their dendrites, and this result was mimicked by selectively

knocking out the NR1 subunit of the NMDA receptor, and

administering NMDA in the whisker-plucked mice rescued

these morphological alterations. Last, it was shown that

the loss of the NR1 subunit changes the afferent drive from

thalamus, and these morphological changes of interneurons

may result from the loss of selective thalamocortical

connectivity mediated by nerve-growth factor.

The second afternoon speaker Mingshan Xue

(University of California San Diego) shifted the focus from

barrel cortex to visual cortex. He began by reminding the

audience about the balance of excitatory and inhibitory (E/I

ratio) networks within the cerebral cortex. By investigating the

layer 4 to layer 2/3 connection, he established that the E/I ratio

is evenly matched and strongly cor related across networks,

suggesting the strength of inhibition matches the strength of

excitation. Then, by investigating c-fos

-GFP neurons and

comparing to neighboring fos



neurons, it was possible to

understand how sensory activity alters the excitatory and

inhibitory balance in the presence of visual information. It was

found that out of the many subtypes of inhibitory neurons, the

parvalbumin

interneurons are the main inhibitory drivers

responsible for equalizing the E/I ratio among layer 2/3

pyramidal neurons. Further, by genetically manipulating

the excitability of pyramidal neurons it was determined

that each excitatory neuron can regulate the presynaptic

inhibitory output it receives in an activity-dependent and

cell-autonomous manner. This effect is limited to

connections between excitatory neurons to parvalbumin

inhibitory neurons, as this activity-dependent regulation is

not seen to affect excitatory neuron to somatostatin

cell

connections.

The final afternoon speaker was Shankar

Sachidhanandam (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de

Lausanne, Switzerland) who presented data on how inhibitory

neuronal activity can influence whisker detection sensitivity.

Mice were trained to associate the detection of whisker

stimuli to licking of a liquid reward. Optogenetic stimuli

were used to substitute for physical whisker stimulation, and

pharmacological inactivation in barrel cortex blocked this

whisker-stimulation associated reward behavior. Through

whole cell recording in behaving animals, it was determined

that the secondary late depolar ization accompanied by spiking

in excitatory neurons was strongly correlated with hit trials

compared to misses. Finally, it was demonstrated that

optogenetically activated inhibitory circuit, mediated by

parvalbumin

(PV) interneurons, can inactivate this late

phase of excitation. It was concluded that there are two

portions of excitatory neuronal activity: the early phase that is

responsible for the detection of the stimuli and the later

phase that is responsible for the post-stimulus-related

behavioral response. Furthermore, the inhibitory interneurons,

particularly PV

neurons, mediate the response tuning curve

in these excitatory neuronal activities.

The meeting adjourned with a commitment to continue the

longest running satellite meeting and convene again prior to

next year’s Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington,

DC. The 27th annual Barrels meeting will return to the

birthplace of the Barrels, Johns Hopkins University in

Baltimore, Maryland.

Acknowledgements

The event’s hosting was facilitated by Dr David Kleinfeld and

Ms Nancy Steinmetz. The 2013 meeting was co-organized by

Drs Joshua C. Brumberg, David Kleinfeld, Daniel O’Connor,

Robert Sachdev, and Jochen Staiger. The organization is

indebted to the services of Nancy Steinmetz and Kathy

Diekmann.

Declaration of interest

The Barrels meeting was generously supported by NINDS

(1R13NS065167-01). The authors report no conflicts of

interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and

writing of this article.

Appendix: BARRELS XXVI schedule

Thursday, 7 November

9:00–9:05 Welcome

: Joshua C. Brumberg, Queens College, CUNY

9:05–11:00 Synaptic and circuit dynamics of the thalamic reticular nucleus

9:05–9:15 Introduction/overview

: Chris Moore, Brown University

9:15–9:45 Michael Beierlein, University of Texas Medical School at Houston

Cholinergic synaptic inputs to TRN trigger thalamic network activity

9:45–10:15 Anita Lu

thi, University of Lausanne

SK channel overexpression enhances thalamic spindle activity and consolidates sleep

10:15–10:45 Michael Halassa, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

State-dependent organization of thalamic reticular microcircuits

10:45–11:00 Discussion

(continued )

4 P. Chu et al. Somatosens Mot Res, Early Online: 1–6

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11:00–11:30 Coffee Break

11:30–12:30 Short Platform Talks 1

Moderator

: Matthew Diamond, SISSA, Trieste, Italy

11:30–11:45 Carsten K. Pfeffer

1,2

, Mingshan Xue

, Miao He

, Z. Josh Huang

, and Massimo Scanziani

1, 2

Inhibition of inhibition in cortex: The logic of connections between molecularly distinct inter neurons

Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA,

Center for Neural

Circuits and Behavior, Neurobiology Section and Depar tment of Neuroscience, University of California San Diego,

La Jolla, California, USA, and

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA

11:45–12:00 Robin J. Wagener, Mirko Witte, and Jochen F. Staiger

Intact thalamocortical target selection in the severely disorganized neocortex of the reeler mouse

Georg-August-Universita

t, Gottingen, Germany

12:00–12:15 Hong Li

, Sofia Fertuzinhos

, Ethan Mohns

, Thomas S. Hnasko

2,3

, Matthijs Verhage

, Robert Edwards

Nenad Sestan

1,5

, and Michael C. Crair

1,5,6

Laminar and columnar development of barrel cortex relies on thalamocortical neurotransmission

Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA,

Departments of Neurology and

Physiology, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA,

Present address: Department of

Neurosciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA,

Department of Functional Genomics/Clinical

Genetics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Vrije Uiniversiteit (VU) and VU Medical Center,

Amsterdam, the Netherlands,

Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT,

USA, and

Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

12:15–12:30 Discussion

12:30–2:30 Lunch Break

2:30–3:00 Short Platform Talks 2

Moderator

: Dirk Schubert, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre

2:30–2:45 Arash Fassihi

, Athena Akrami

, Vahid Esmaeili

, and Matthew E. Diamond

Vibrissal working memory: Psychometrics and neuronal activity

SISSA, Trieste, Italy and

Princeton University, USA

2:45–3:00 Matthew H. Evans and Tony J. Prescott

Efficient and sparse coding in the whisker system

University of Sheffield, UK

3:00–3:15 S. Peron, V. Iyer, Z. Guo, C. Guo, and K. Svoboda

The brain activity map of mouse barrel cor tex

HHMI/Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, VA, USA

3:15–3:40 Data Blitz

Moderator

: Joshua C. Brumberg, Queens College, CUNY

3:40–6:30 Poster Session

6:30 Dinner

Friday, 8 November

8:45–11:00 Neurovascular structure and control of brain metabolism

8:45–8:55 Introduction/moderator

: David Kleinfeld, University of California San Diego

8:55–9:25 Serge Charpak, University Paris V

Imaging brain activity from capillaries

9:25–9:55 Anna Devor, University of California San Diego & Harvard Medical School

How to build a hemodynamic response from scratch?

9:55–10:25 Catherine Hall, University College London

Regulation of brain energy supply by capillaries

10:25–10:55 Philbert S. Tsai, University of California San Diego

Blood flow and angio-architecture in relation to the vibrissae barrels

10:55–11:10 Discussion

11:10–11:30 Coffee Break

11:30–12:45 Short Platform Talks 3

Moderator

: Robert Sachdev, Yale University School of Medicine

11:30–11:45 Christian L. Ebbesen and Michael Brecht

Suppression of rat vibrissa motor cortex activity dur ing social facial touch

Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany

11:45–12:00 Jerry L. Chen

, Stefano Carta

1,2

, Joana Soldado-Magraner

1,3

, Bernard L. Schneider

, and Fritjof Helmchen

1,2

Task-dependent transmission of activity in mouse barrel cortex

Brain Research Institute, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland,

Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich/

ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland,

Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich/ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland,

and

Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), EPFL SV BMI LEN, Lausanne,

Switzerland

12:00–12:15 B. Joachimsthaler

1,2,3,4

, D. Brugger

1,2

, A. Skodras

2,4

, and C. Schwarz

1,2

Structural plasticity on the level of dendritic spines underlying classical eyeblink conditioning in mouse barrel cortex

Werner Reichardt Center for Integrative Neuroscience, Tuebingen, Germany,

Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research,

Tuebingen, Germany,

Graduate School of Neural and Behavioral Science, Tuebingen, Germany, and

German Center

for Neurodegenerative Disease, Tuebingen, Germany

12:15–12:30 Discussion

12:30–1:45 Lunch Break

1:45–3:00 Short Platform Talks 4

Moderator

: Bryan M. Hooks, Janelia Farm Research Campus

(continued )

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1:45–2:00 Robert Sachdev, Yuguo Yu, Peter Herman, Basav Sanganahalli, David McCormick, and Fahmeed Hyder

State-dependent correlations between spontaneous neocortical activity and cerebral blood flow

Department of Neurobiology, Diagnostic Radiology, and Biomedical Engineering, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven,

CT, USA

2:00–2:15 A. Urban, M. Heidmann, C. Brunner, and J. Rossier

Chronic imaging at high spatiotemporal resolution using whole brain functional sonography

Centre de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences, INSERM U894, Optogenetics and Brain Imaging, Paris, France

2:15–2:30 S. Musall

1,2

, W. von der Behrens

2,3

, J. Mayrhofer

, B. Weber

, F. Helmchen

, and F. Haiss

2,4

Impact of response adaptation on stimulus perception: Sensory stimulation versus optogenetic activation of pr imary

somatosensory cortex

Institute for Brain Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland,

Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology,

University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland,

Institute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, and

Medical Faculty, RWTH University, Aachen, Germany

2:30–2:45 S. Peron, V. Iyer, Z. Guo, C. Guo, and K. Svoboda

The brain activity map of mouse barrel cor tex

HHMI/Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, VA, USA

2:45–3:00 Discussion

3:00–3:15 Coffee Break

3:15–5:30 Cortical GABAergic interneurons: Origins, circuit maturation and unveiling of functions

3:00–3:10 Introduction/overview

: Jochen Staiger, Georg-August-Universita

3:10–3:40 Gordon Fishel, New York University

The role of intrinsic and activity-regulated gene expression in the specification and maturation of cor tical interneurons

3:40–4:10 Z. Josh Huang, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories

Cortical GABAergic interneurons: Origins, circuit maturation and functions getting unveiled

4:10–4:40 Shankar Sachidhanandam, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

Gating of sensory perception by parvalbumin-expressing GABAergic neurons in mouse barrel cortex

4:40–5:00 Discussion

5:00 Adjourn

6 P. Chu et al. Somatosens Mot Res, Early Online: 1–6

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