Physiological and behavioral analyses show that expression of cerebellar whisker learning can be mediated by increased simple spike activity, depending on LTP induction at parallel fiber to Purkinje cell synapses.
Sensory enrichment creates a more columnar, less salt-and-pepper whisker map in somatosensory cortex, showing that impoverished experience contributes to intermixed tuning in rodent sensory maps.
Whisker barrels provide clues about neocortical development, as computer modelling shows that barrels can self-organize, based on competition between adjacent thalamocortical axons, suggesting that genetic instruction plays a secondary role.
A learning-induced, motor-related, projection-specific signal from S1 to S2 accompanies reward-based-learning of a goal-directed sensorimotor transformation of whisker sensation into licking motor output.