Expansion of the Central Hindpaw Representation Following Fetal Forelimb Removal in the Rat

The effect of dorsal column lesions in the primary somatosensory cortex and medulla of adult rats

Spinal cord injury is a devastating condition that haunts human lives. Typically, patients experience referred phantom sensations on the hand when they are touched on the face. In adult monkeys, massive deafferentations such as chronic dorsal column lesions at higher cervical levels result in the large-scale expansion of face inputs into the deafferented hand cortex of area 3b. However, adult rats with thoracic dorsal column lesions do not demonstrate such large-scale reorganization. The large-scale face expansion in area 3b of monkeys is driven by the reorganization of the cuneate nucleus in the medulla. The sprouting of afferents from the trigeminal nucleus to the adjacent deafferented cuneate nucleus is facilitated by close proximity and compactness of the medulla in primates. Previously, in adult rats with thoracic lesions, the cuneate nucleus was not deafferented and its functional organization was not explored. The extent of the deafferentation and the duration of the recovery period are two major factors that determine the extent of reorganization. Hence, higher cervical (C3-C4) dorsal column lesions were performed, which cause massive deafferentations, and physiological maps were obtained after prolonged recovery periods (3 weeks -18 months). In spite of the above, the expansion of the intact face inputs was not observed in the deafferented zones of the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) and medulla of adult rats. The deafferented forelimb and hindlimb representations in SI were unresponsive to cutaneous stimulation of any part of the body. The cuneate and gracile nuclei in rats with complete dorsal column lesions remained mostly inactive except for a few sites which responded to stimulation of the spared upper arm. Hence, dorsal column lesions have different effects on the adult primate and rodent somatosensory systems. Appreciating this inter-species difference can aid in identifying the underlying neural substrates and restrict maladaptive reorganizations to cure phantom sensations.

Optical study of interactions among propagation waves of neural excitation in the rat somatosensory cortex evoked by forelimb and hindlimb stimuli

Multisite optical recording has revealed that the neural excitation wave induced by a sensory stimulation begins at a focus and propagates in the cortex. This wave is considered to be important for computation in the sensory cortex, particularly the integration of sensory information; however, the nature of this wave remains largely unknown. In the present study, we examined the interaction between two waves in the rat sensory cortex induced by hindlimb and forelimb stimuli with different interstimulus intervals. We classified the resultant patterns as follows: 1) the collision of two waves, 2) the hindlimb response being evoked while the forelimb-induced wave is passing the hindlimb focus, and 3) the hindlimb response being evoked after the forelimb-induced wave has passed the hindlimb focus. In pattern 1, the two waves fused into a single wave, but the propagation pattern differed from that predicted by the superimposition of two singly induced propagation courses. In pattern 2, the state of the interaction between the two waves varied depending on the phase of optical signals constituting the forelimb-induced wave around the hindlimb focus. Although no hindlimb-induced wave was observed in the rising phase, the propagating velocity of the forelimb-induced wave increased. At the peak, neither the hindlimb-induced response nor a modulatory effect on the forelimb-induced wave was detected. In pattern 3, the hindlimb-induced wave showed a reduced amplitude and spatial extent. These results indicate that the state of the interaction between waves was strongly influenced by the relative timing of sensory inputs.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Sensory stimulation-induced cortical excitation propagates as a wave and spreads over a wide area of the sensory cortex. To elucidate the characteristics of this relatively unknown phenomenon, we examined the interaction between two individually induced waves in the somatosensory cortex. Either the waves collided or the preceding wave affected the emergence of the following one. Our results indicate that the state of the interaction was strongly influenced by the relative timing of sensory inputs.

Intergenerational transmission of sociality: the role of parents in shaping social behavior in monogamous and non-monogamous species

Social bonds are necessary for many mammals to survive and reproduce successfully. These bonds (i.e. pair-bonds, friendships, filial bonds) are characterized by different periods of development, longevity and strength. Socially monogamous species display certain behaviors not seen in many other mammals, such as adult pair-bonding and male parenting. In our studies of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) and titi monkeys (Callicebus cupreus), we have examined the neurohormonal basis of these bonds. Here, we discuss the evidence from voles that aspects of adolescent and adult social behavior are shaped by early experience, including changes to sensory systems and connections, neuropeptide systems such as oxytocin and vasopressin, and alterations in stress responses. We will compare this with what is known about these processes during development and adulthood in other mammalian species, both monogamous and non-monogamous, and how our current knowledge in voles can be used to understand the development of and variation in social bonds. Humans are endlessly fascinated by the variety of social relationships and family types displayed by animal species, including our own. Social relationships can be characterized by directionality (either uni- or bi-directional), longevity, developmental epoch (infant, juvenile or adult) and strength. Research on the neurobiology of social bonds in animals has focused primarily on 'socially monogamous' species, because of their long-term, strong adult affiliative bonds. In this Review, we attempt to understand how the ability and propensity to form these bonds (or lack thereof), as well as the display of social behaviors more generally, are transmitted both genomically and non-genomically via variation in parenting in monogamous and non-monogamous species.

Forelimb amputation-induced reorganization in the cuneate nucleus (CN) is not reflected in large-scale reorganization in rat forepaw barrel subfield cortex (FBS)

We examined reorganization in cuneate nucleus (CN) in juvenile rat following forelimb amputation (n=34) and in intact controls (n=5) to determine whether CN forms a substrate for large-scale reorganization in forepaw barrel subfield (FBS) cortex. New input from the shoulder first appears in the FBS 4 weeks after amputation, and by 6 weeks, the new shoulder input comes to occupy most of the FBS. Electrophysiological recording was used to map CN in controls and in forelimb amputees during the first 12 weeks following deafferentation and at 26 and 30 weeks post-amputation. Mapping was confined to a location 300 μm anterior to the obex where a medial-to-lateral row of electrode penetrations traversed through a complete complement of cytochrome-oxidase stained clusters (called barrelettes) that are associated with the representation of the glabrous forepaw digits and pads and adjacent non-cluster zones that are associated with the representation of the wrist, arm, and shoulder. Following amputation, non-cluster zones became occupied with new input from the body/chest and head/neck, while the cluster zone remained largely devoid of new input except at the border. A regression analysis comparing controls and amputees over the first 12 weeks post-amputation found significant differences for the total area of new input from the body/chest and head/neck in the non-cluster zones, while no significant differences were found for any new input into the cluster zone. When the averaged areas of a body-part representation were re-examined as a percentage of the averaged zonal area, a non-significant increase in new input from the body was observed within the cluster zone during post-amputation weeks 2-3 that returned to baseline in the subsequent weeks. In contrast, significant differences in averaged area of body-part representations for body/chest and head/neck were found in non-cluster zones over the first 12 weeks post-amputation. The present findings suggest that reorganization occurs only within the non-cluster zones whereby new input from the body/chest and head/neck moves in and occupies the deafferented territory immediately after amputation. Additionally, the lack of significant differences in new shoulder input in either cluster or non-cluster zones over the first 12 weeks after amputation suggests that CN provides an unlikely substrate for large-scale reorganization in the FBS.

Shifts in developmental timing, and not increased levels of experience-dependent neuronal activity, promote barrel expansion in the primary somatosensory cortex of rats enucleated at birth

Birth-enucleated rodents display enlarged representations of whiskers (i.e., barrels of the posteromedial subfield) in the primary somatosensory cortex. Although the historical view maintains that barrel expansion is due to incremental increases in neuronal activity along the trigeminal pathway during postnatal development, recent evidence obtained in experimental models of intramodal plasticity challenges this view. Here, we re-evaluate the role of experience-dependent neuronal activity on barrel expansion in birth-enucleated rats by combining various anatomical methods and sensory deprivation paradigms. We show that barrels in birth-enucleated rats were already enlarged by the end of the first week of life and had levels of metabolic activity comparable to those in control rats at different ages. Dewhiskering after the postnatal period of barrel formation did not prevent barrel expansion in adult, birth-enucleated rats. Further, dark rearing and enucleation after barrel formation did not lead to expanded barrels in adult brains. Because incremental increases of somatosensory experience did not promote barrel expansion in birth-enucleated rats, we explored whether shifts of the developmental timing could better explain barrel expansion during the first week of life. Accordingly, birth-enucleated rats show earlier formation of barrels, accelerated growth of somatosensory thalamocortical afferents, and an earlier H4 deacetylation. Interestingly, when H4 deacetylation was prevented with a histone deacetylases inhibitor (valproic acid), barrel specification timing returned to normal and barrel expansion did not occur. Thus, we provide evidence supporting that shifts in developmental timing modulated through epigenetic mechanisms, and not increased levels of experience dependent neuronal activity, promote barrel expansion in the primary somatosensory cortex of rats enucleated at birth.

Development and critical period plasticity of the barrel cortex

In primary sensory neocortical areas of mammals, the distribution of sensory receptors is mapped with topographic precision and amplification in proportion to the peripheral receptor density. The visual, somatosensory and auditory cortical maps are established during a critical period in development. Throughout this window in time, the developing cortical maps are vulnerable to deleterious effects of sense organ damage or sensory deprivation. The rodent barrel cortex offers an invaluable model system with which to investigate the mechanisms underlying the formation of topographic maps and their plasticity during development. Five rows of mystacial vibrissa (whisker) follicles on the snout and an array of sinus hairs are represented by layer IV neural modules ('barrels') and thalamocortical axon terminals in the primary somatosensory cortex. Perinatal damage to the whiskers or the sensory nerve innervating them irreversibly alters the structural organization of the barrels. Earlier studies emphasized the role of the sensory periphery in dictating whisker-specific brain maps and patterns. Recent advances in molecular genetics and analyses of genetically altered mice allow new insights into neural pattern formation in the neocortex and the mechanisms underlying critical period plasticity. Here, we review the development and patterning of the barrel cortex and the critical period plasticity.

Reduced somatosensory hand representation in thalidomide-induced dysmelia as revealed by fMRI

The concept of cerebral plasticity suggests that the hand representation in somatosensory cortex is abnormal in congenital malformation disorders. To investigate this issue we studied 11 subjects with different degrees of upper extremity dysmelia due to thalidomide embryopathy in comparison to 10 control subjects. In the affected subjects fingers are typically missing in radio-ulnar order beginning with the thumb. Haemodynamic responses to electrical stimulation of the radial-most and ulnar-most fingers were measured in each subject using functional magnetic resonance tomography. The size of the hand area in the primary somatosensory cortex was estimated by calculating the Euclidian distance between corresponding activation peaks on the lateral postcentral gyrus. The cortical somatosensory hand representation was found to be significantly smaller in dysmelic subjects as compared with the control subjects (P <0.001). The shrinkage of the hand area was not proportional to the number of missing fingers. Furthermore, the cortical representation of the ulnar fingers in the dysmelic subjects was shifted towards the cortical thumb representation of the control group. We suggest that the unproportional reduction of the hand area together with the observed shift may reflect use-dependent rather than malformation-induced reorganization of the somatosensory hand area.

Pain and stress in the human fetus

It is not known if the fetus can actually feel pain, but noxious stimulation during fetal life does cause detectable stress responses. These responses cause both short and long-term changes in the central nervous system, which can affect subsequent pain behaviour. Reducing the stress response is known to be beneficial in children and adults and recent evidence suggests this is also true for the fetus. However, the optimal amount of suppression required and the best method of achieving this (opioid or regional anaesthesia techniques) remain unknown. Prevention and treatment of pain is a basic human right, regardless of age, and if the technique of fetal surgery is to progress then a greater understanding of nociception and the stress response is required.

Patterned activity via spinal dorsal quadrant inputs is necessary for the formation of organized somatosensory maps

The normal development of the somatosensory system requires intact sensory inputs from the periphery during a critical window of time early in development. Here we determined how the removal of only part of the ascending spinal inputs early in development affects the anatomical and neurophysiological development of the somatosensory system. We performed spinal overhemisections in rat pups at C3/C4 levels on the third day after birth. This procedure hemisects the spinal cord on one side and transects the dorsal funiculus on the other side. When the rats were 6-8 months old, the responsiveness and somatotopy of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) contralateral to the hemisection were determined using standard multiunit mapping techniques. Sections of the flattened cortex were processed for cytochrome oxidase activity, Nissl substance, or myelin. We found that histologically apparent modules that are normally present in the regions of the forepaw and the hindpaw representations were absent, whereas the lateral barrel field representing the face was completely normal. The neurons in the forepaw regions of S1 either did not respond to the stimulation of the skin of any region of the body or responded to the stimulation of the upper arm afferents that enter the spinal cord rostral to the site of the lesion. The results show that a lack of normal sensory inputs via ascending pathways in the dorsal spinal cord during early development results in massive anatomical and neurophysiological abnormalities in the cortex. Intact crossed spinothalamic pathways are unable to support the normal development of the forepaw barrels.

Comparison of reorganization of the somatosensory system in rats that sustained forelimb removal as neonates and as adults

Studies of sensory pathways in several species indicate that the extent and form of reorganization resulting from deafferentation early in life vs. adulthood are not the same. The reasons for such differences are not well understood. To gain further insight into age-dependent mechanisms of reorganization, this study compared the consequences of neonatal vs. adult forelimb amputation in rats at multiple levels of the sensory pathway, including primary somatosensory cortex, brainstem, and dorsal root ganglia. At the cortical level, the average area of the functional forelimb-stump representation from rats amputated as adults was significantly smaller (P < 0.05) than that of neonatally amputated rats (4.3 +/- 1.3 mm(2) vs. 6.6 +/- 1.5 mm(2), respectively). At the brainstem level, neonatally amputated rat cuneate neurons possessed the following responsivities: 20% stump responsive, 40% responsive to both stump and hindlimb, 30% responsive to another body region, and 10% unresponsive. In contrast, cuneate neurons of adult amputated rats were 70% stump responsive, 2% responsive to both stump and hindlimb, and 30% unresponsive. A significantly (P < 0.001) greater percentage of the C(6)-C(8) dorsal root ganglia neurons of adult amputated rats were unresponsive to peripheral stimulation vs. neurons from neonatally amputated rats (48% vs. 16%, respectively). These results indicate that the reorganization that occurs in response to forelimb amputation at birth vs. adulthood is distinctly different at each of these levels of the dorsal column-medial lemniscal pathway. Possible mechanisms to account for these differences are considered.

Role of development in reorganization of the SI forelimb-stump representation in fetally, neonatally, and adult amputated rats

Rats that sustain forelimb removal on postnatal day (P) 0 exhibit numerous multi-unit recording sites in the forelimb-stump representation of primary somatosensory cortex (SI) that also respond to hindlimb stimulation when cortical GABAA+B receptors are blocked. Most of these hindlimb inputs originate in the medial SI hindlimb representation. Although many forelimb-stump sites in these animals respond to hindlimb stimulation, very few respond to stimulation of the face (vibrissae or lower jaw), which is represented in SI just lateral to the forelimb. The lateral to medial development of SI may influence the capacity of hindlimb (but not face) inputs to "invade" the forelimb-stump region in neonatal amputees. The SI forelimb-stump was mapped in adult (>60 days) rats that had sustained amputation on embryonic day (E) 16, on P0, or during adulthood. GABA receptors were blocked and subsequent mapping revealed increases in nonstump inputs in E16 and P0 amputees: fetal amputees exhibited forelimb-stump sites responsive to face (34%), hindlimb (10%), and both (22%); neonatal amputees exhibited 10% face, 39% hindlimb, and 5% both; adult amputees exhibited 10% face, 5% hindlimb, and 0% both, with approximately 80% stump-only sites. These results indicate age-dependent differences in receptive-field reorganization of the forelimb-stump representation, which may reflect the spatiotemporal development of SI. Results from cobalt chloride inactivation of the SI vibrissae region and electrolesioning of the dysgranular cortex suggest that normally suppressed vibrissae inputs to the SI forelimb-stump area originate in the SI vibrissae region and synapse in the dysgranular cortex.

Functional Connections Formed by Saphenous Nerve Terminal Sprouts in the Dorsal Horn Following Neonatal Sciatic Nerve Section

The rostrocaudal distribution of saphenous nerve inputs into the lumbar dorsal horn from L2 to L6 has been investigated in urethane anaesthetized rats whose left sciatic nerve was cut and ligated at birth. In normal cord, electrical stimulation of the saphenous nerve evoked dorsal horn spikes in L2 to caudal L4. Few or no spikes were evoked in L5. After neonatal sciatic nerve section, saphenous nerve stimulation evoked spikes throughout segments L2 to L6. Dorsal horn cell receptive fields were also altered following neonatal sciatic nerve section. A somatotopic map of the lumbar enlargement in normal rats was constructed from the receptive fields (RFs) of adjacent dorsal horn cells. Cells with RFs in the saphenous skin region were concentrated in L3 and rostral L4 and very few were found in L5. After neonatal sciatic nerve section, however, a substantial number of cells with low threshold saphenous skin RFs were also found in caudal L4 and throughout L5. These results show that the central saphenous nerve terminal sprouts that grow into the sciatic terminal region following neonatal sciatic nerve section (Fitzgerald, 1985, J. Comp. Neurol., 240, 414-422; Fitzgerald et al., 1990, J. Comp. Neurol., 300, 370-385) form functional connections. This results in dorsal horn cells that are not normally influenced by saphenous nerve inputs developing substantial low threshold RFs in saphenous nerve skin regions.

Developmental adaptation of rat nociceptive withdrawal reflexes after neonatal tendon transfer

Nociceptive withdrawal reflexes (NWRs) were studied in adult rats in which the movement patterns produced by single muscles had been altered by neonatal tendon transfer. NWRs evoked by cutaneous noxious mechanical and thermal (CO2-laser) stimulation were recorded using electromyography in a decerebrate spinal preparation. The sensitivity distribution within the receptive fields of the NWRs of the extensor digitorum longus and the peronei muscles exhibited changes corresponding to the altered movement patterns. No detectable change of NWRs was found in normal muscles whose receptive fields overlapped that of the modified muscle. Furthermore, NWRs of muscles that regained an essentially normal function after neonatal tendon transfer did not differ from normal. It is proposed that a developmental experience-dependent mechanism, which takes into account the hindlimb movement pattern caused by contraction of single muscles, underlies the functionally adapted organization of adult NWRs.

Synaptophysin immunoreactivity and distributions of calcium-binding proteins highlight the functional organization of the rat's dorsal column nuclei

The mammalian dorsal column nuclei (DCN) are principally composed of the cuneate (CN) and gracile (GN) nuclei. Data presented here support previously published anatomical and functional evidence that the longitudinal organization of the CN and GN reflect the complex role of the DCN in somatosensory processing. The CN is organized longitudinally into three parts. Within the middle portion of this nucleus, primary afferent projections and cuneothalamic cells are concentrated. Although traditional cytoarchitectonic analyses had failed to detect this tripartite organization in rats, we found evidence for it, with a functional middle region, extending approximately 0.2-0.9 mm caudal to the obex, characterized by precise somatotopy of primary afferent terminations and corresponding somatotopy of cytochrome oxidase (CO) blotches. Additional evidence is presented here consistent with a functionally distinct middle region within the rat's CN: (1) patches of dense synaptophysin (a synaptic-vesical-associated protein)-immunoreactivity (SYN-IR) are limited to the middle CN region, coincident with the dense CO blotches; (2) neurons immunoreactive for the calcium-binding proteins calbindin-D28 (CB), calretinin (CR) and parvalbumin (PV) are concentrated in the middle CN region. Furthermore, in adult rats subjected to perinatal forepaw removal, (1) the patterns of SYN-IR in the middle region of the CN are disrupted, as had previously been shown for the patterns of CO blotches; (2) in contrast, however, distributions of CN cells with PV-, CB- and CR-IR are unaffected. Evidence for a tripartite division in the GN is also presented, based on the distributions of cells with PV-, CB- and CR-IR.

Extensive cortical reorganization following sciatic nerve injury in adult rats versus restricted reorganization after neonatal injury: implications for spatial and temporal limits on somatosensory plasticity

Expansion of the saphenous representation in rat S-I cortex following sciatic nerve injury, examined at different times after injury and following injury at different developmental stages, has contributed to the beginnings of a comprehensive view of spatial and temporal patterns of cortical reorganization. In the first few days or weeks after deafferentation in adult animals, cortical reorganization may be spatially constrained to convergence zones between central representations of peripheral nerves (Wall and Cusick, 1984; Garraghty et al., 1994a; Schroeder et al., 1995). The apparent steady state of the rat hindpaw system up to 5-6 months after sciatic nerve injury contrasts with the additional, nearly complete reorganization shown at times longer than 7-8 months. The late reorganization supports the concept that reorganized cortical maps can continue to be altered throughout life. The prolonged time course of change in the rat hindpaw system suggests that studies of "chronic" nerve injuries need to carefully define the reorganizational state of the system at the time intervals studied. For humans with peripheral nerve or amputation injuries, the results imply that the short term postinjury status can be further altered at longer times, perhaps decades later. To characterize the neurochemical consequences or mechanisms of cortical reorganization, it is necessary to consider possible differences between early versus late changes. Time dependent changes in neurotransmitters and their receptors have been described following peripheral injury (e.g., Avendaño et al., 1995). In addition, both early and late mechanisms or consequences of reorganization may differ spatially. In the example of changes in rat hindpaw cortex after sciatic nerve transection, neurochemical changes in "expansion" cortex may differ quantitatively or qualitatively from changes in the deafferented "sciatic dominant" zone. To accurately define neurochemical changes, it may thus be necessary to characterize sample zones as having intact or reorganized inputs, or as deprived of inputs. The studies of cortical reorganization following neonatal sciatic nerve injury underscore the importance of developmental age at time of injury. Most studies of critical periods in the central nervous system have emphasized greater plasticity in developing as opposed to adult animals. Early lesions or deprivation, however, not only result in connectional alterations, but can produce dramatically more atrophy or cell loss (e.g., see Cunningham, 1982; Waite, 1984; Himes and Tessler, 1989). A number of authors have commented on the seeming paradox of greater transneuronal and retrograde cell death, yet greater neuronal plasticity, in infant animals. How developmental stage influences plastic responses to peripheral injury in the somatosensory system is not completely understood. Early peripheral lesions may deprive central neurons of necessary trophic factors, accentuate naturally occurring central cell death, and thereby result in smaller central representations. Or, smaller central representations may be produced by competitive interactions of deprived with adjacent intact pathways. In addition, throughout all stages of development, the capacity for reorganization may be spatially limited and depend on the size or pattern of the peripheral injury.

The formation of a cortical somatotopic map

The primary somatosensory cortex of small rodents is an isomorphic representation of the body surface. Similar representations are characteristic of the subcortical pathways, leading from the periphery to the cortex, and these representations develop in a sequence that begins at the periphery, and that ends in the cortex. Furthermore, central representations at all levels of the neural axis are altered by perinatal perturbations of the peripheral surface. This has led to the hypothesis that the periphery plays an instructional role in the formation of central neuronal structures. The morphology of this discrete organization has been examined thoroughly during the development of the thalamocortical projections. The mechanism(s) that underlies the formation of these representations remains unclear although some recent evidence suggests the involvement of activity-dependent processes that are modulated by 5-HT.

Neonatal infraorbital nerve transection and blockade of axoplasmic transport reduce expression of acetylcholinesterase by thalamocortical axons

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is transiently expressed by ventrobasal thalamic neurons and their axons in the primary somatosensory cortex and this enzyme has been used as a marker for these axons in studies concerned with cortical development and plasticity. The present experiment evaluated the effects of both peripheral nerve transection and blockade of axoplasmic transport upon the expression of AChE in thalamic axon terminals in the primary somatosensory cortex. Both manipulations resulted in marked reductions in the density of AChE in thalamocortical axons and less dramatic decreases in the density of this enzyme in thalamic neurons. These results indicate that AChE may not invariably provide unequivocal information about the distribution of somatosensory thalamocortical axon terminals in developing rodents.

Early development of the somatotopic map and barrel patterning in rat somatosensory cortex

Several lines of evidence implicate a crucial role for thalamic afferents from the ventroposterior nucleus (VP) in the development of barrels and their characteristic pattern in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) of rodents. We sought to determine the stage in development when VP thalamocortical afferents are first distributed in a periphery-related pattern and the sequence of events that culminate in a mature pattern. Using acetylcholinesterase (AChE) histochemistry, an early marker for VP thalamocortical afferents, and the anterograde axon tracer DiI, we show that VP thalamocortical afferents become distributed into a periphery-related pattern earlier than was previously reported, including their parcellation into a barrel-related pattern that mirrors the distribution of sensory hairs on the face. The earliest periphery-related patterning observed is transiently present in the deep cortical layers prior to the emergence of layer 4, the layer in which barrels later develop. AChE histochemistry reveals a clear sequence of maturation of the barrel pattern in the distribution of VP afferents: An initially patternless distribution of AChE-reactive afferents is followed by their distribution in a nascent trigeminal representation, from which rows subsequently emerge; barrel-related clusters of afferents then emerge from the rows. This process begins before birth, and the transition from row-related to barrel-related distributions of VP afferents is evident during the first postnatal day (P0). This demonstration of a periphery-related pattern in developing rat S1 precedes by about 2 days that revealed by any other marker reported to delineate barrels. These findings confirm that VP thalamocortical afferents are the first barrel component to have a periphery-related pattern and support the hypothesis that thalamocortical afferents provide to immature S1 the patterning information that initiates the formation of barrels and their characteristic array. Furthermore because these findings show an earlier onset for barrel formation than was previously realized, they necessitate a reevaluation of conclusions drawn from experiments examining developmental plasticity in barrel patterning.

Development, critical period plasticity, and adult reorganizations of mammalian somatosensory systems

This review covers recent progress in three major areas of investigation in somatosensory systems: development, developmental plasticity and functional reorganization. Important findings relate to the development of periphery-related patterning in thalamic afferents to somatosensory cortex, the controversial role of neural activity in the development and plasticity of periphery-related afferent patterning in the brainstem and cortex, experience-dependent reorganizations in adult somatosensory cortex, and the locus of these changes.

The mutability of low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor (p75NGFR) expression in the rat cuneate nucleus following perinatal injury and adult deafferentations: comparisons with cytochrome oxidase

In normal adult rats, intense immunostaining for the 75 kDa low-affinity receptor for nerve growth factor and other neurotrophins (p75NGFR) is concentrated in the middle region of the cuneate nucleus (CN), distributed in a blotchy pattern similar to that of cytochrome oxidase (CO) activity. In the adult rats, partial dorsal rhizotomies (centered around the 7th and 8th cervical spinal segments) resulted in the complete disappearance of p75NGFR-like immunoreactivity within the ipsilateral CN, but did not affect the distribution of the CO blotches. Perinatal (postnatal day 1-8) damage to the ipsilateral forepaw and subsequent rearing to adulthood also resulted in significant disruption of the topographical expression of p75NGFR-like immunoreactivity within the CN, as well as--as previously reported--disruption of the CO blotches. Although the patterns of staining in intact adult rats are similar for CO staining and for p75NGFR-like immunoreactivity within the CN, the CO staining appears to be primarily associated with postsynaptic cells, while the p75NGFR-like immunostaining appears to be associated with primary afferent terminals.

Alterations in brainstem and cortical organization of rats sustaining prenatal vibrissa follicle lesions

Vibrissa follicles were cauterized in late fetal or newborn rats to determine whether the relationships between brainstem and cortical changes observed after neonatal peripheral damage would also be obtained when vibrissa follicles were cauterized earlier in development. Vibrissa follicles were cauterized between embryonic day 15 (E-15) and the day of birth (P-0). The vibrissa-related representation in the brainstem was examined with cytochrome oxidase histochemistry, and that in the cortex was evaluated with either serotonin immunocytochemistry or anterograde labeling with Di-I when animals reached 6-8 days of age. There was a significant relationship between the ages at which lesions were carried out and the extent to which the representations of undamaged vibrissa follicles were altered in the brainstem and cortex. Peripheral lesions carried out between E-15 and E-18 resulted in significant increases in the cross-sectional areas of the patches corresponding to the undamaged vibrissa follicles in both the brainstem and cortex. Lesions at later ages resulted in significant increases only in the cortex. In some animals that sustained peripheral damage on E-20 and all of those that received lesions on P-0, there were aggregates of labeling in cortex that had no counterpart in the brainstem. Prenatal, but not postnatal, vibrissa follicle damage also reduced the overall dimensions of the cortical region devoted to the representation of these receptor organelles. Finally, there was a strong negative correlation between the magnitude of peripheral lesions (i.e., the number of vibrissa follicles ablated) and the extent of the reorganization in the brainstem and cortex.

Enhanced cytochrome-oxidase staining of the cuneate nucleus in the rat reveals a modifiable somatotopic map

Existing cytochrome oxidase (CO)-staining techniques were modified to enhance sensitivity and contrast in order to examine patterns of CO-activity in the dorsal column nuclei (DCN) of adult Long-Evans rats. Within a rostrocaudally limited region in the middle of the cuneate nucleus (CN) distinctive blotches of intense CO-activity were observed. The CO-staining was maximally differentiated approximately 0.3-0.7 mm caudal to the obex. No CO-blotches were observed anywhere else in the DCN. Transganglionic labelling (WGA-HRP) demonstrated that some of the CO-blotches in the rat CN are related to the terminal projection fields of primary afferents from the skin of the forepaws. The corresponding location of primary afferent termination fields and CO-staining patterns supports a tripartite rostrocaudal division in the rat CN, similar to that described by other investigators in cats, monkeys and raccoons. Comparing the patterns of CO-staining to (1) the cytoarchitecture (Nissl-stained sections), or to (2) the dendritoarchitecture (distribution of microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) or to (3) the organization of retrogradely labelled (WGA-HRP/HRP) cuneothalamic cells, revealed no topographical organization corresponding to the CO-blotches. Postnatal (at least up to 11 days postpartum) forepaw deafferentation or removal disrupted the CO-staining pattern in the CN.

Crossmodal changes in the somatosensory vibrissa/barrel system of visually deprived animals

Cats deprived of vision from birth adapt remarkably well to their situation and show little behavioral impairment. They seem to compensate for their lack of vision by relying more on their auditory and tactile senses. We report here that the facial vibrissae, which are most important for tactile orientation in many animals, show supernormal growth in both cats and mice that have been deprived of vision from birth. Furthermore, the whisker representation in the somatosensory cortical barrel field shows a concomitant enlargement in binocularly enucleated mice: individual barrels are expanded in size by up to one-third. The increased use of the vibrissae in visually deprived animals may stimulate both their own growth and, via activation of the respective neural pathways, the expansion of their central representation.

Vibrissaeless mutant rats with a modular representation of innervated sinus hair follicles in the cerebral cortex

Specialized areas in the cerebral cortex are essential to mediate the various sensory modalities and are crucial to their recovery in disease. We recently observed that prenatal photoreceptor cues are not indispensable for the development of the elaborate modular organization of the primate primary visual (striate) cortex (Kuljis, R. O. and P. Rakic. 1990. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87: 5303-5306). By contrast, the elegant experiments of Woolsey, Van der Loos, and collaborators (Van der Loos, H., and T. A. Woolsey. 1973. Science 179: 395-398; Van der Loos, H. and J. Dörfl. 1978. Neurosci Lett. 7: 23-30; Woolsey, T. A. 1967. John Hopkins Med. J. 121: 91-112; Woolsey, T. A. and H. Van der Loos. 1970. Brain Res. 17: 205-242) indicate that postnatal vibrissal receptor input is necessary for the development of modular organization in the posteromedial barrel subfield (PMBSF) of the rodent somatosensory cortex. The present report is part of a series of studies designed to address the variables that result in seemingly different results in these two models. Here, I address the role of pre- and postnatal tactile experience in the development of the rat homologue of the mouse PMBSF using mutants that lack vibrissae. Mutants exhibit cytoarchitectonic units in layer IV similar to those in controls, as revealed by NissI stains and histochemistry for succinate dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase. Sections from flat mounts of the vibrissal pad reveal that all mutants contain vibrissal follicles with stumps of sinus hairs in a geometric array and number similar to that in controls, and that the follicles are innervated heavily by fascicles of fibers from the infraorbital nerve.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The emergence of architectonic field structure and areal borders in developing monkey sensorimotor cortex

Adult monkey sensorimotor cortex consists of several structurally and functionally distinct areas. The developmental sequence through which the characteristic architectonic features and the borders of these areas become resolved was examined in a series of fetal, postnatal and adult monkeys by using Nissl staining, cytochrome oxidase and acetylcholinesterase histochemistry, and immunocytochemistry for GABA and the neuropeptides somatostatin, neuropeptide Y, substance P and cholecystokinin. At the youngest fetal age examined (E110), the pre- and postcentral gyri possess six clearly delineated cellular layers; populations of GABA- and neuropeptide-immunoreactive cells can be identified, but their somatic sensory cortex at E110 lacks areal cytoarchitectonic parcellation. Despite the apparent homogeneity in the cytoarchitecture of the somatic sensory cortex, incipient areal borders are revealed by staining for cytochrome oxidase and acetylcholinesterase activity, and by staining immunocytochemically for several neuropeptides. The motor cortex at E110 differs from that in adults by the presence of a prominent layer IV; a clear cytoarchitectonic border between areas 3a and 4 is detectable at E110, which is also revealed by chemoarchitectonic markers. With increasing age, the characteristic architectonic features gradually emerge and areal cytoarchitectonic borders appear, becoming adult-like by early postnatal ages. The gradual changes in cytoarchitecture are paralleled by redistributions of GABA- and neuropeptide-immunoreactive cells and fiber plexuses. The data demonstrate that the progressive refinement in cytoarchitectonic features and in the distributions of neurotransmitter- and peptide-containing cells occurs primarily during the latter third of gestation. The major changes are temporally coincident with the ingrowth of afferent axonal systems, suggesting that the establishment of connectivity may be capable of modulating finer details of structural or molecular phenotype, particularly intra-areal cytoarchitectonic features and neurotransmitter or peptide expression.

Responsiveness of reorganized primary somatosensory (SI) cortex after local inactivation of normal SI cortex in chronic spinal cats

The cortical map of adult cats that sustained spinal cord transection at T12 when they were 2 weeks old is characterized by a clear duplication of the representation of the forelimb, rostral trunk, and neck. The novel representation is located in the cortical region that is, in nonoperated animals, normally devoted to the hindlimb representation. We have investigated the possibility that the reactivation of the deprived hindlimb cortex may be mediated by corticocortical projections from normal to reorganized cortex. The primary somatosensory (SI) cortex was initially mapped to determine the boundaries of the normal and reorganized cortical representations. Somatotopically corresponding regions in both normal and reorganized cortex representing the trunk, the web space, or the shoulder were more precisely mapped. Inactivation of normal cortex was achieved by the nanoinjection of a solution of lidocaine hydrochloride stained with Chicago sky blue. Two major findings are described. First, inactivation of a circumscribed region of normal cortex representing a given receptive field (RF) failed to reduce or inhibit the responsiveness of a somatotopically corresponding RF represented in reorganized cortex. Therefore, it is unlikely that intracortical connections between normal and reorganized cortex could account for the reorganizational processes observed in cats that sustained spinal cord transection at 2 weeks of age. Second, the chemical blockade of normal cortex provoked an increase of the responsiveness and of the size of the peripheral RFs represented in reorganized cortex. This finding suggests that there are corticocortical connections (possibly topographically organized) between normal and reorganized cortex, and that these connections are inhibitory.

Principles of neural cell migration

A basic property of immature neurons is their ability to change position from the place of their final mitotic division in proliferative centers of the developing brain to the specific positions they will occupy in a given structure of the adult nervous system. Proper acquisition of neuron position, attained through the process of active migration, ultimately affects a cell's morphology, synaptic connectivity and function. Although various classes of neurons may use different molecular cues to guide their migration to distant structures, a surface-mediated interaction between neighboring cells is considered essential for all types of migration. Disturbance of this cell-cell interaction may be important in several congenital and/or acquired brain abnormalities. The present article considers the basic mechanisms and principles of neuronal cell migration in the mammalian central nervous system.