Methods in the lab:
- Large scale extracellular recordings of populations of neurons.
- Two photon laser scanning microscopy of neuronal structure and function.
- Behavioural training.
- Immunohistochemistry.
- Genetic tools for cell type specific targeting.
The project:
The visual cortex has been the canonical model for studying cortical processing and plasticity. The visual cortex is placed on top of the rodent brain and is thus easy accesible for imaging techniques. The anatomic organization of this brain area is well understood and easy control of the sensory inputs to the neural processing in this area make visual cortex a suitable candidate for mechanistic studies of cortical processing and plasticity.
In order to study brain plasticity it is necessary to measure the changes in neuron responses to e.g. a sensory stimulus. A number of functional brain mapping techniques have been developed in recent years. One of these techniques is optical imaging of intrinsic signals (OIS). Optical imaging of intrinsic signals maps the brain by measuring intrinsic activity-related changes in tissue reflectance. Functional physiological changes, such as increases in blood volume, hemoglo