In?Vivo Functional Mapping of a Cortical Column at Single-Neuron Resolution

摘要

The cerebral cortex is organized in vertical columnsthat contain neurons with similar functions. Thecellular micro-architecture of such columns is anessential determinant of brain dynamics and corticalinformation processing. However, a detailed understandingof columns is incomplete, even in the beststudied cortical regions, and mostly restricted tothe upper cortical layers. Here, we developed atwo-photon Ca2+-imaging-based method for the serialfunctional mapping of all pyramidal layers of themouse primary auditory cortex at single-neuron resolutionin individual animals. We demonstrate thatthe best frequency-responsive neurons are organizedin all-layers-crossing narrow columns, withfuzzy boundaries and a bandwidth of about oneoctave. This micro-architecture is, in many ways,different from what has been reported before, indicatingthe region and stimulus specificity of functionalcortical columns in vivo.