Figure 5
Optogenetic vM1 activation suppresses the sustained response to whisker stimulus in vS1. (A), Upper, schematic of the optogenetic activation. ChR2 was expressed in vM1 by virus-vector injection. The neurons in vM1 were activated by 473 nm light stimulus. Lower, an example of ChR2 expression in vM1 based on ChR2-EYFP (green) and vGluT2 (grey) staining. Scale bar, 1 mm. (B), An example of MUA in vS1 in response to whisker stimulus (piezo trace, orange) and 473 nm ChR2 activation in vM1 for 5 ms. The sustained responses at points (a–c) were used in the graphs seen in C and D. (C), The sustained responses at (b) (shown in B) were significantly suppressed compared with those at (a,c) (P < 0.001, N = 28 from four mice; Wilcoxon signed-rank test). (D), The sustained responses at (b) without ChR2 activation were not different from those at (a,c) (P = 0.48, N = 29 from four mice; Wilcoxon signed-rank test). The MUA of zero spikes at (a–c) was excluded from the analysis (N = 4 from C, N = 3 from D).
