Input Areas to Mouse Visual Cortex and Role of Striatum in Cortical Plasticity

Our brains allow us to perceive the outside world and learn to predict the consequences of actions through experience. Learning to predict the sensory input based on input from another sensory modality requires communication between respective cortical areas, as well as gating mechanisms which allow this connection to be formed. The aim of this thesis was to further expand our understanding of connectivity patterns within the visual cortex, as well as how formation of long-range cortical connections is gated.
Chapter 1 of this thesis aims to gain insight into the connectivity patterns of specific subsets of genetically identified cell types in the visual cortex. In addition, we asked if distinct types of source areas demonstrate particular connectivity distribution. This work was done in collaboration with Marcus Leinweber and Jan M. Sobczak.
Chapter 2 of this thesis provides preliminary data for visuomotor processing of striatum, input structure of basal ganglia, which have been speculated to gate the formation of long-range cortical connections.