Barrel Cortex

The barrel cortex contains the somatosensory representation of the whiskers on the face of the rodent and forms an early stage of cortical processing for tactile information. It is an area of great importance for understanding how the cerebral cortex works because the cortical columns that form the basic building blocks of the cerebral cortex can be seen within the barrel cortex. In this advanced graduate and research level text, Kevin Fox explores three main aspects of the barrel cortex: development, sensory processing and plasticity. Initial chapters introduce the topic, describing those animals that have barrels, the functional anatomy of the system and the cellular and synaptic physiology of the cortical microcircuit. The book concludes with a chapter covering the numerous fields where the barrel cortex is used as a model system for solving problems in other areas of research, including stroke, angiogenesis and understanding active touch.

1. Introduction to the barrel cortex; 2. Anatomical pathways; 3. Cellular and synaptic organization of the barrel cortex; 4. Development of barrel cortex; 5. Sensory physiology; 6. Synaptic plasticity of barrel cortex; 7. Experience-dependent plasticity; 8. New and emerging fields in barrel cortex research.

Kevin Fox is currently Head of Neuroscience and Head of Research in Biosciences at Cardiff University as well as Director of the Experimental MRI Centre. He gained his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at The University of London and has worked in the USA at Washington University St. Louis as a McDonnell fellow, Brown University Rhode Island and University of Minnesota Medical School Minneapolis as an Assistant Professor.