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A genuine layer 4 in motor cortex with prototypical synaptic circuit connectivity Open Access (recommended)

Descriptions

Resource type(s)

Journal Article

Keyword

Neuroscience
Neocortex

Rights

Attribution 3.0 United States

Creator

Suter, Benjamin
Shepherd, Gordon M G
Yamawaki, Naoki
Borges, Katharine Ellen Munckton

Abstract

The motor cortex (M1) is classically considered an agranular area, lacking a distinct layer 4 (L4). Here, we tested the idea that M1, despite lacking a cytoarchitecturally visible L4, nevertheless possesses its equivalent in the form of excitatory neurons with inputoutput circuits like those of the L4 neurons in sensory areas. Consistent with this idea, we found that neurons located in a thin laminar zone at the L3/5A border in the forelimb area of mouse M1 have multiple L4-like synaptic connections: excitatory input from thalamus, largely unidirectional excitatory outputs to L2/3 pyramidal neurons, and relatively weak long-range corticocortical inputs and outputs. M1-L4 neurons were electrophysiologically diverse but morphologically uniform, with pyramidal-type dendritic arbors and locally ramifying axons, including branches extending into L2/3. Our findings therefore identify pyramidal neurons in M1 with the expected prototypical circuit properties of excitatory L4 neurons, and question the traditional assumption that motor cortex lacks this layer.

Original Bibliographic Citation

Chadderdon GL, Mohan A, Suter BA, Neymotin SA, Kerr CC, Francis JT, Shepherd GM, Lytton WW. (2014) Neural Comput. 26(7):1239-1262.

Related URL

 https://elifesciences.org/content/3/e05422

Publisher

eLife
DigitalHub. Galter Health Sciences Library

Date Created

2014

Original Identifier

(PMID)25525751

Language

English

Subject: MESH

Action Potentials
Adenoviridae--genetics
Axons
Dendrites
Genetic Vectors
Mice
Motor Cortex
Pyramidal Cells
Synapses
Synaptic Potentials
Synaptic Transmission
Thalamus--physiology

DOI

10.7554/eLife.05422

ARK

ark:/c8131/g3ks35

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