Molecular states underlying neuronal cell type development and plasticity in the postnatal whisker cortex

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003176
• Publication Date: 2025-05-14T18:17:11Z
• Authors: Salwan Butrus; Hannah R. Monday; Christopher J. Yoo; Daniel E. Feldman; Karthik Shekhar
• Keywords: Barrel cortex; Cell type; Premovement neuronal activity

Mouse whisker somatosensory cortex (wS1) is a major model system to study the experience-dependent plasticity of cortical neuron physiology, morphology, and sensory coding. However, role experience in regulating neuronal cell type development gene expression wS1 remains poorly understood. We assembled transcriptomic atlas during postnatal comprising 45 molecularly distinct types that can be grouped into eight excitatory four inhibitory subclasses. Between day (P) 12, onset active whisking, P22, when classical critical periods close, ~ 250 genes were regulated subclass-specific fashion was normal. At resolution types, only composition layer (L) 2/3 glutamatergic neurons, but not other changed substantially between P12 P22. These compositional changes L2/3 resemble those observed previously primary visual (V1), temporal also highly conserved regions. Unlike V1, however, maturation dependent on experience, as 10-day full-face deprivation from P22 did influence identity nor types. A one-day competitive protocol P21 affect induced moderate plasticity-related expression. Thus, developmental similar V1 wS1, minimally affects wS1.