Mice (IMAGE)

Salk Institute

Mice

Caption

Sense receptors distributed over the body surface are represented in corresponding sensory maps in somatosensory cortex (S1). Like in Penfield's "Homunculus" illustration, their size in S1 is dictated by the number and density of sense receptors and nerves that connect each body part with S1, rather than the size of the body part. A normal "Mouseunculus" (WT) contains highly enlarged maps representing the face and whiskers. In animals lacking Pax6 in the neocortex (cKO), all body maps are very small and incomplete resulting in a highly distorted "Mouseunculus" that schematizes abnormal somatosensation in these mice.

Credit

Image: Courtesy of Andreas Zembrzycki and Jamie Simon, Salk Institute for Biological Studies

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