Principal Investigator: Prof. Leena Ali Ibrahim
Poster Presenter: Tania Reyes Vallejo
Lab: Neruocircuits Lab
Sensory inputs from the environment are assembled within the primary sensory cortex. The processing of sensory inputs, such as sound, allows us to pay attention or ignore certain stimuli and to make predictions about the environment. Top-down modulation, which is the process of using previous knowledge to regulate the incoming sensory information, allows making these predictions. Layer 1 (L1) interneurons have been implicated in the integration of bottom-up signals coming from our environment with the top-down signals. However, there is a lack of information about the role of neurogliaform cells (NGCs) in such process. Using in vivo 2-photon calcium imaging, we investigated the role of NGCs in the establishment of top-down modulation in the auditory cortex by comparing their activity during development and in adulthood. Furthermore, we investigated their effect on the activity of L2/3 excitatory neurons and observed if NGCs were involved in regulating the L2/3 neuronal responses to predictable and not predictable auditory stimuli. Our results showed a general decrease in neuronal activity in adulthood compared to development for both L1 NGCs and L2/3 excitatory cells. Also, we suggest that L1 neurogliaform cells seem to be adapting to the repetitive sound stimuli presentation.