A databank for intracellular electrophysiological mapping of the adult somatosensory cortex.

Background: Neurons in the supragranular layers of the somatosensory cortex integrate sensory (bottom-up) and cognitive/perceptual (top-down) information as they orchestrate communication across cortical columns. It has been inferred, based on intracellular recordings from juvenile animals, that supragranular neurons are electrically mature by the fourth postnatal week. However, the dynamics of the neuronal integration in adulthood is largely unknown.