# The impact of the environment on sensorimotor cortex in rats:  Functional organization, connections and behavior

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2024 · $369,468

## Abstract

The emergence of the neocortex and its capacity to be shaped by early sensory and motor experience is the
hallmark of mammalian brain evolution. This remarkable plasticity allows the neocortex to be constructed for a
multi-sensory context, and to generate flexible behavior throughout a lifetime. While it is well established that
early sensory experience can alter the functional organization of sensory and motor cortex, most studies have
focused on either the somatosensory or the motor system in isolation, and almost exclusively studied animals
reared in relatively restricted laboratory environments. Thus, the extent to which the sensory complexity,
variability, and affordances of the early environment impact neural and behavioral development is unknown.
Also, whether these types of dynamic environments can increase the capacity for behavioral plasticity
throughout a lifetime has never been explored. In the current proposal, rats will be born and reared in two
distinct environments; a laboratory cage, or in a large, highly enriched, semi-natural outdoor enclosure. We
will determine if the speed with which an animal learns a sensory motor task, the accuracy of performance, and
strategy by which novel tasks are learned correlate with, and can predict, differences in the functional
organization, neural response properties and connections of the neocortex. We focus on areas involved in
sensorimotor integration and motor control that we believe will be highly impacted by rearing condition: the
primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and motor cortex (M1). We will use electrophysiological recording
techniques to examine the somatotopic organization and neural response properties of S1, and intracortical
microstimulation techniques to determine how muscle synergies are represented in M1 and S1. We will also
quantify differences in the neuroanatomical connections of M1 and S1 with other cortical fields within and
across hemispheres, as well as with the dorsal thalamus and spinal cord. Finally, to determine when these
distinct environments have the greatest impact on the functional organization and connections of S1 and M1,
we will examine animals at 4 important developmental time points and as adults. These studies will uncover
when and how early sensory experience coupled with diverse motor opportunities impact cortical organization
and connectivity in the developing brain to generate context-appropriate behavior; and if dynamic and complex
sensorimotor environments generate brains and bodies capable of a larger degree of behavioral plasticity
throughout a lifetime.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10769717
- **Project number:** 5R01NS115881-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** LEAH ANN KRUBITZER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $369,468
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-02-01 → 2026-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10769717

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10769717, The impact of the environment on sensorimotor cortex in rats:  Functional organization, connections and behavior (5R01NS115881-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10769717. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*