SYNAPTIC MECHANISMS OF CORTICAL REPRESENTATIONAL PLASTICITY - SOMATOSENSORY AND CORTICOCORTICAL EPSPS IN REORGANIZED RACCOON SI CORTEX

1. Reorganizations of representational maps have been described for a variety of sensory and motor regions of cerebral neocortex in several species. The purpose of this study was to investigate synaptic mechani sms of the reorganizations of primary somatosensory cortex that follow removal of a digit or the joining of two digits into a syndactyly. We examined neurons in the cortical representation of digit 4 (d4). Intr acellular recording was used to compare somatosensory and corticocorti cal excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) in normal raccoons, wit h EPSPs recorded in two experimental groups of animals surviving for a mean of 22 wk after removal of d4, or union of d4 with digit 3 (d3). 2. In normal animals with d4 intact, EPSPs were evoked from this on-fo cus digit in 100% of cortical neurons. EPSPs were evoked from d3 and d igit 5 (off-focus digits) in only a minority of neurons in normal racc oons. The incidence of somatosensory EPSPs from off-focus digits incre ased dramatically after removal of d4 or its union with d3. Latencies of EPSPs evoked from off-focus digits decreased after d4 removal, so t hat they were as short as latencies from d4 in normal animals. In cont rast, for the group of animals with d3-d4 syndactyly, latencies of EPS Ps from off-focus digits were not shorter than responses from these di gits in normal animals. 3. Corticocortical EPSPs were no more common i n animals with d4 removed than in intact animals. Furthermore, cortico cortical EPSPs after d4 removal did not differ in their latencies, amp litudes, half-widths, or integrated amplitudes. The only detected chan ge was that corticocortical EPSPs had faster rising phases after remov al of d4. In contrast, after d3-d4 syndactyly, corticocortical EPSPs w ere more common than in normal animals. 4. Digit removal and digital s yndactyly had distinctive effects on somatosensory and corticocortical EPSPs. These results do not identify unique synaptic mechanisms for c ortical representational plasticity, nor do they specify the involved CNS site(s). Several synaptic mechanisms consistent with the results a re considered in the discussion, including synaptic proliferation to f orm new synaptic connections and enhanced effectiveness of existing co rticocortical synapses.