Constraints on somatosensory map development: mutants lead the way.

Authors :: Gaspar P
Renier N
Source :: Current opinion in neurobiology [Curr Opin Neurobiol] 2018 Dec; Vol. 53, pp. 43-49. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 May 10.
Publication Year :: 2018
Abstract: In the rodent somatosensory system, the disproportionally large whisker representation and their specialization into barrel-shaped units in the different sensory relays has offered experimentalists with an ideal tool to identify mechanisms involved in brain map formation. These combine three intertwined constraints: Firstly, fasciculation of the incoming axons; secondly, early neural activity; finally, molecular patterning. Sophisticated genetic manipulations in mice have now allowed dissecting these mechanisms with greater accuracy. Here we discuss some recent papers that provided novel insights into how these different mapping rules and constraints interact to shape the barrel map.<br /> (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)