We observed distinct somatotopic alignment of the direct and indirect dorsal column pathway inputs to VPL-PNs in the DCN. This alignment enables rich representations in VPL-PNs without compromising spatial detail. The development of this somatotopy probably requires complex coordination between primary sensory neurons, including both LTMRs and HTMRs, spinal cord dorsal horn circuitry and the DCN. Developmental activity, either spontaneous or mechanically evoked, may play an essential part in organizing this system, as it does in other sensory systems44,45. Moreover, adult PSDC neurons exhibit strong receptive field plasticity46,47, which raises the possibility that signal propagation through the indirect dorsal column pathway can be modified by sensory experience. Thus, subdivisions of the dorsal column pathway may not only expand the capacity for coding tactile features across DCN output pathways but also introduce hard-wired and flexible components to the repertoire of mechanosensory representation in the earliest stages of the sensory hierarchy.
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