This thesis concerns the neuronal activity patterns evoked in somatosensory
cortex by deflection of the whiskers in lightly anesthetized rats. The relation of activity
patterns to the well known columnar organization of the rat cortex is of particular
interest. After an analysis of the patterns of activity present in normal rats (Chapter 2), a
variety of special circumstances are evaluated to find out how cortical responses to
whisker movement are influenced by preceding sensory experience:
• 3-day periods of whisker pairing in freely-moving rats (Chapter 3);
• 50-min periods of conditioning in anesthetized rats (Chapter 4 );
• Extended periods of altered sensory-motor experience in developing rats (Chapter 5).
