Repetitive sensory stimulation potentiates and recruits sensory-evoked cortical population activity

Sensory experience and learning are thought to be associated with plasticity of neocortical circuits. Repetitive sensory stimulation can induce long-term potentiation (LTP) of cortical excitatory synapses in anesthetized mice; however, it is unclear if these phenomena are associated with sustained changes in activity during wakefulness. Here we used time-lapse, calcium imaging of layer (L) 2/3 neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), in awake male mice, to assess the effects of a bout of rhythmic whisker stimulation (RWS) at a frequency by which rodents sample objects. We found that RWS induced a 1h-increase in whisker-evoked L2/3 neuronal activity. This was not observed for whiskers functionally connected to distant cortical columns. We also found that RWS altered whether individual neurons encoded subsequent stimulus representation by either being recruited or suppressed. Vasoactive intestinal-peptide-expressing (VIP) interneurons, which promote plasticity through disinhibition of pyramidal neurons, were found to exclusively elevate activity during RWS. These findings indicate that cortical neurons’ representation of sensory input can be modulated over hours through repetitive sensory stimulation, which may be gated by activation of disinhibitory circuits.