Rapid Arrival and Integration of Ascending Sensory Information in Layer 1 Nonpyramidal Neurons and Tuft Dendrites of Layer 5 Pyramidal Neurons of the Neocortex

Ascending sensory inputs arriving in layer 1 of the neocortex carry crucial signals for detecting salient information; but how the inputs are processed in layer 1 is unknown. Using a whole-cell in vivo recording technique targeting nonpyramidal neurons in layer 1 and tuft dendrites of layer 5 pyramidal neurons in layers 1-2, we examined the processing of these ascending sensory inputs in the barrel cortex. Here, we show that local circuit and deeper-layer-projecting neurons in layer 1, as well as tuft dendrites and somata of layer 5 pyramidal neurons, respond to multiple whiskers (6-15) with robust EPSPs. Remarkably, the latency for primary whisker-evoked responses is as short as ∼5-7 msec in layer 1 neurons and tuft dendrites of layer 5 pyramidal neurons. In addition, the latency for primary whisker-evoked responses in tuft dendrites of layer 5 pyramidal neurons is ∼1 msec shorter than that in somata. These results indicate that ascending sensory inputs arrive in layers 1 and 4 concurrently, which provides a neural mechanism for rapid integration and coincident detection of salient sensory information.