Work

Large cranial windows distort sensory maps and degrade feature integration in higher-order cortex

Year: 2026

Type: preprint

Abstract: Understanding how sensory information is transformed along cortical hierarchies requires reliable measurement of sensory representations across areas. In vivo two-photon calcium imaging through chronic cranial windows has become an essential approach for characterizing cortical sensory representations with cellular resolution and spatial registration across experiments. However, cortical computations, particularly in higher-order cortices, depend on intricate intracortical circuitry and can be sensitive to subtle tissue perturbations introduced during surgical preparation. Here, we report that implantation of large cranial windows can mechanically compress the intrinsically curved cortical surface, producing systematic distortion that is usually not recognized as overt tissue damage. By comparing sensory maps in the mouse auditory cortex before and after window implantation, we show that larger windows commonly used across laboratories are associated with distorted sensory maps away from the center of the window. Furthermore, both macroscopic and cellular-level imaging reveal a deterioration of feature-selective responses in the secondary auditory cortex (A2) following such distortion. Together, these findings identify an overlooked but controllable surgical factor that can bias measurements of sensory representations and highlight an important consideration for enhancing reproducibility across studies.

Source: bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

DOI: 10.64898/2026.02.13.705795

Authors: Amber M Kline, Hiroaki Tsukano, Muneshwar Mehra, Gates P Schneider, Michellee M Garcia, Hiroyuki K Kato

Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Language: English

Topic: Neuroscience and Neural Engineering

Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Awards: Cellular Mechanisms of Auditory Information Processing, Neural circuits underlying temporal integration of sounds and their dysregulation in an ASD model, Cortical circuits for the integration of parallel short-latency auditory pathways, Cortical circuits for temporal integration of multi-frequency sounds, Neuroscience Predoctoral Training at UNC-Chapel Hill, Cortical circuits for the integration of parallel short-latency auditory pathways

OpenAlex ID: W7129543005

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