Organization and development of bilateral somatosensory feedback projections in mice

Sensory information travels from the periphery to the cortex across relays. Each of these stations receives feedback projections which gate and tune the transmission of feedforward information. We used whole brain imaging combined with viral strategies and single axon tracings to reveal the existence of a bilateral feedback projection from the somatosensory cortex to brainstem relays processing whisker information. Initially, after birth in mice, this feedback loop projects equally to both sides of the brainstem. Then, the projection strengthens preferentially toward the contralateral side while maintaining its ipsilateral component. We found that manipulating the laterality of the feedforward pathway from the brainstem to the opposite cortex altered the laterality preference of the descending feedback projections. This suggests a dynamic interplay between ascending and descending pathways in shaping sensory processing. This study highlights the presence of bilateral integration within the somatosensory system's feedback projections.