Investigating neuronal network activity during cortical rewiring.

It has become clear recently that the adult brain is not hard-wired. We know that altering sensory input non-traumatically, for instance by whisker trimming, causes excitatory circuits in primary sensory cortex to rewire. Rewiring is a structural change in the wiring of the brain. We don't understand how structural rewiring in the brain gives rise to changes in neural activity. Here, my objective is to define the changes in the neural activity exhibited by local cortical networks that are signs of rewiring.