Correlation between axonal morphologies and synaptic input kinetics of interneurons from mouse visual cortex

Cereb Cortex. 2007 Jan;17(1):81-91. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhj126. Epub 2006 Feb 8.

Abstract

Neocortical interneurons display great morphological and physiological variability and are ideally positioned to control circuit dynamics, although their exact role is still poorly understood. To better understand this diversity, we have performed a detailed anatomical and physiological characterization of 3 subtypes of visual cortex interneurons, isolated from transgenic mice which express green fluorescent protein in somatostatin, parvalbumin, and neuropeptide Y positive neurons. We find that these 3 groups of interneurons have systematic differences in dendritic and axonal morphologies and also characteristically differ in the frequencies, amplitude, and kinetics of the spontaneous excitatory and inhibitory synaptic currents they receive. Moreover, we detect a correlation between the kinetics of their synaptic inputs and quantitative aspects of their axonal arborizations. This suggests that different interneuron types could channel different temporal patterns of activity. Our results also confirm the importance of the axonal morphology to classify interneurons.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Axons / physiology*
  • Axons / ultrastructure*
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Dendrites / physiology
  • Dendrites / ultrastructure
  • Electrophysiology
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Interneurons / physiology*
  • Interneurons / ultrastructure*
  • Kinetics
  • Membrane Potentials / physiology
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Nerve Net / cytology
  • Nerve Net / physiology
  • Neuropeptide Y / genetics
  • Neuropeptide Y / physiology
  • Parvalbumins / genetics
  • Parvalbumins / physiology
  • Patch-Clamp Techniques
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Pyramidal Cells / physiology
  • Somatostatin / genetics
  • Somatostatin / physiology
  • Synapses / physiology*
  • Synapses / ultrastructure*
  • Visual Cortex / physiology*
  • Visual Cortex / ultrastructure*

Substances

  • Neuropeptide Y
  • Parvalbumins
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Somatostatin