Sensory information is processed in distributed neuronal networks connected by intricate synaptic circuits. Studies of the rodent brain can provide insight into synaptic mechanisms of sensory perception and associative learning. In particular, the mouse whisker sensorimotor system has recently begun to be investigated through combinations of imaging and electrophysiology, providing data correlating neural activity with behaviour. In order to go beyond such correlative studies and to pinpoint the contributions of individual genes to brain function, it is critical to make highly controlled and specific manipulations. Here, we review recent progress towards genetic manipulation of targeted genes in specific neuronal cell types located in a selected cortical layer of a well-defined cortical column of mouse barrel cortex. The unprecedented precision of such genetic manipulation within highly specific neural circuits may contribute significantly to progress in understanding the molecular and synaptic determinants of simple forms of sensory perception and associative learning.
Matthias Wolf, Henry Markram, Felix Schürmann, Eilif Benjamin Muller, Srikanth Ramaswamy, Michael Reimann, Daniel Keller, Werner Alfons Hilda Van Geit, James Gonzalo King, Pramod Shivaji Kumbhar, Alexis Arnaudon, Jean-Denis Georges Emile Courcol, Rajnish Ranjan, Armando Romani, András Ecker, Michael Emiel Gevaert, Vishal Sood, Sirio Bolaños Puchet, James Bryden Isbister, Judit Planas Carbonell, Daniela Egas Santander, Maria Reva, Genrich Ivaska, Natali Barros Zulaica, Mustafa Anil Tuncel, Christoph Pokorny, Elvis Boci, Jorge Blanco Alonso, Aleksandra Zuzanna Teska, Darshan Mandge, Polina Litvak, Gianluca Ficarelli, Weina Ji, Giuseppe Chindemi, Christian Andreas Rössert, Omar Awile, Joni Henrikki Herttuainen, Samuel Lieven D. Lapere, Thomas Brice Delemontex, Tanguy Pierre Louis Damart, Alexander Dietz