Cortical network reorganization guided by sensory input features

Abstract. Sensory experience alters the functional organization of cortical networks. Previous studies using behavioral training motivated by aversive or rewarding stimuli have demonstrated that cortical plasticity is specific to salient inputs in the sensory environment. Sensory experience associated with electrical activation of the basal forebrain (BasF) generates similar input specific plasticity. By directly engaging plasticity mechanisms and avoiding extensive behavioral training, BasF stimulation makes it possible to efficiently explore how specific sensory features contribute to cortical plasticity. This review summarizes our observations that cortical networks employ a variety of strategies to improve the representation of the sensory environment. Different combinations of receptive-field, temporal, and spectrotemporal plasticity were generated in primary auditory cortex neurons depending on the pitch, modulation rate, and order of sounds paired with BasF stimulation. Simple t...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2002
• Where: BC
• Authors: Michael P. Kilgard, Pritesh K. Pandya, Navzer D. Engineer, Raluca Moucha
• Keywords: BC 2002, Cortical Networks, Cortical Plasticity, Sensory Environment