The brain is a sophisticated biological system known to produce different experiences and perceptions via complex dynamics. Different brain regions and neural populations commonly work in tandem, communicating with each other to ultimately produce specific behaviors and sensations.
Researchers at University of Oxford and the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization recently carried out a study aimed at better understanding the neural dynamics underpinning this communication between neural populations. Their, show that the probability that mice will perceive something is linked to a variability of neural activity in the brain region that processes the incoming stimulus information.
"For example, neurons in the brain region associated with vision activate in response to areas of an image with sharp changes in contrast," Rowland and Van der Plas explained."However, at the same time, we know that brain regions do not operate in isolation; to understand the world in full, they must reliably communicate."
"Their brains reflect this, with a large proportion of their cortex assigned to information coming from the whiskers. To conduct our study, we focused on two specialized regions of the mouse brain that receive inputs from the whiskers." "In addition to recording neurons, we used a technique called two-photon photostimulation to artificially manipulate neuronal activity," Rowland and Van der Plas said.
"Mice have between 50 and 100 million neurons, but we confirmed that inducing activity in just a dozen or so can alter their behavior, an astonishing degree of sensitivity," Rowland and Van der Plas said.
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