scholarly journals BDNF Regulates the Intrinsic Excitability of Cortical Neurons

1999 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 284-291
Author(s):  
Niraj S. Desai ◽  
Lana C. Rutherford ◽  
Gina G. Turrigiano

Neocortical pyramidal neurons respond to prolonged activity blockade by modulating their balance of inward and outward currents to become more sensitive to synaptic input, possibly as a means of homeostatically regulating firing rates during periods of intense change in synapse number or strength. Here we show that this activity-dependent regulation of intrinsic excitability depends on the neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). In experiments on rat visual cortical cultures, we found that exogenous BDNF prevented, and a TrkB–IgG fusion protein reproduced, the change in pyramidal neuron excitability produced by activity blockade. Most of these effects were also observed in bipolar interneurons, indicating a very general role for BDNF in regulating neuronal excitability. Moreover, earlier work has demonstrated that BDNF mediates a different kind of homeostatic plasticity present in these same cultures: scaling of the quantal amplitude of AMPA-mediated synaptic inputs up or down as a function of activity. Taken together, these results suggest that BDNF may be the signal controlling a coordinated regulation of synaptic and intrinsic properties aimed at allowing cortical networks to adapt to long-lasting changes in activity.

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter James Morgan ◽  
Romain Bourboulou ◽  
Caroline Filippi ◽  
Julie Koenig-Gambini ◽  
Jérôme Epsztein

In area CA1 of the hippocampus, the selection of place cells to represent a new environment is biased towards neurons with higher excitability. However, different environments are represented by orthogonal cell ensembles, suggesting that regulatory mechanisms exist. Activity-dependent plasticity of intrinsic excitability, as observed in vitro, is an attractive candidate. Here, using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings of CA1 pyramidal neurons in anesthetized rats, we have examined how inducing theta-bursts of action potentials affects their intrinsic excitability over time. We observed a long-lasting, homeostatic depression of intrinsic excitability which commenced within minutes, and, in contrast to in vitro observations, was not mediated by dendritic Ih. Instead, it was attenuated by the Kv1.1 channel blocker dendrotoxin K, suggesting an axonal origin. Analysis of place cells’ out-of-field firing in mice navigating in virtual reality further revealed an experience-dependent reduction consistent with decreased excitability. We propose that this mechanism could reduce memory interference.


2004 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 341-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Cudmore ◽  
Gina G. Turrigiano

Neuronal excitability has a large impact on network behavior, and plasticity in intrinsic excitability could serve as an important information storage mechanism. Here we ask whether postsynaptic excitability of layer V pyramidal neurons from primary visual cortex can be rapidly regulated by activity. Whole cell current-clamp recordings were obtained from visual cortical slices, and intrinsic excitability was measured by recording the firing response to small depolarizing test pulses. Inducing neurons to fire at high-frequency (30–40 Hz) in bursts for 5 min in the presence of synaptic blockers increased the firing rate evoked by the test pulse. This long-term potentiation of intrinsic excitability (LTP-IE) lasted for as long as we held the recording (>60 min). LTP-IE was accompanied by a leftward shift in the entire frequency versus current ( F-I) curve and a decrease in threshold current and voltage. Passive neuronal properties were unaffected by the induction protocol, indicating that LTP-IE occurred through modification in voltage-gated conductances. Reducing extracellular calcium during the induction protocol, or buffering intracellular calcium with bis-( o-aminophenoxy)- N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid, prevented LTP-IE. Finally, blocking protein kinase A (PKA) activation prevented, whereas pharmacological activation of PKA both mimicked and occluded, LTP-IE. This suggests that LTP-IE occurs through postsynaptic calcium influx and subsequent activation of PKA. Activity-dependent plasticity in intrinsic excitability could greatly expand the computational power of individual neurons.


2016 ◽  
Vol 115 (6) ◽  
pp. 2989-2996 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Huupponen ◽  
T. Atanasova ◽  
T. Taira ◽  
S. E. Lauri

Development of the neuronal circuitry involves both Hebbian and homeostatic plasticity mechanisms that orchestrate activity-dependent refinement of the synaptic connectivity. AMPA receptor subunit GluA4 is expressed in hippocampal pyramidal neurons during early postnatal period and is critical for neonatal long-term potentiation; however, its role in homeostatic plasticity is unknown. Here we show that GluA4-dependent plasticity mechanisms allow immature synapses to promptly respond to alterations in network activity. In the neonatal CA3, the threshold for homeostatic plasticity is low, and a 15-h activity blockage with tetrodotoxin triggers homeostatic upregulation of glutamatergic transmission. On the other hand, attenuation of the correlated high-frequency bursting in the CA3-CA1 circuitry leads to weakening of AMPA transmission in CA1, thus reflecting a critical role for Hebbian synapse induction in the developing CA3-CA1. Both of these developmentally restricted forms of plasticity were absent in GluA4 −/− mice. These data suggest that GluA4 enables efficient homeostatic upscaling and responsiveness to temporal activity patterns during the critical period of activity-dependent refinement of the circuitry.


2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1715) ◽  
pp. 20160157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie A. Gainey ◽  
Daniel E. Feldman

We compare the circuit and cellular mechanisms for homeostatic plasticity that have been discovered in rodent somatosensory (S1) and visual (V1) cortex. Both areas use similar mechanisms to restore mean firing rate after sensory deprivation. Two time scales of homeostasis are evident, with distinct mechanisms. Slow homeostasis occurs over several days, and is mediated by homeostatic synaptic scaling in excitatory networks and, in some cases, homeostatic adjustment of pyramidal cell intrinsic excitability. Fast homeostasis occurs within less than 1 day, and is mediated by rapid disinhibition, implemented by activity-dependent plasticity in parvalbumin interneuron circuits. These processes interact with Hebbian synaptic plasticity to maintain cortical firing rates during learned adjustments in sensory representations. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Integrating Hebbian and homeostatic plasticity’.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna R. Moore ◽  
Sarah E. Richards ◽  
Katelyn Kenny ◽  
Leandro de Oliveira Royer ◽  
Urann Chan ◽  
...  

SUMMARYActivity-regulated genes sculpt neural circuits in response to sensory experience. These calcium-sensitive genes generally fall into two categories: transcription factors and proteins that function at synapses. Yet little is known about activity-regulated, cytosolic proteins that transduce signals between the neuronal membrane and the nucleus. Using the visual system as a model, we investigated the role of the activity-regulated, non-canonical Ras-like GTPase Rem2 in vivo. We demonstrate that Rem2-/- mice fail to exhibit normal ocular dominance plasticity during the critical period. At the circuit level, cortical layer 2/3 neurons in Rem2-/- mice show deficits in both postsynaptic scaling up of excitatory synapses and misregulation of intrinsic excitability. Further, we reveal that Rem2 plays a novel, cell-autonomous role in regulating neuronal intrinsic excitability. Thus, Rem2 is a critical regulator of neural circuit function and distinct homeostatic plasticity mechanisms in vivo.HIGHLIGHTSRem2 is required in excitatory cortical neurons for normal ocular dominance plasticityRem2 regulates postsynaptic homoeostatic synaptic scaling upRem2 alters the intrinsic excitability of neurons in a cell-autonomous manner


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 5667-5685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Del Pino ◽  
Chiara Tocco ◽  
Elia Magrinelli ◽  
Andrea Marcantoni ◽  
Celeste Ferraguto ◽  
...  

Abstract The formation of functional cortical maps in the cerebral cortex results from a timely regulated interaction between intrinsic genetic mechanisms and electrical activity. To understand how transcriptional regulation influences network activity and neuronal excitability within the neocortex, we used mice deficient for Nr2f1 (also known as COUP-TFI), a key determinant of primary somatosensory (S1) area specification during development. We found that the cortical loss of Nr2f1 impacts on spontaneous network activity and synchronization of S1 cortex at perinatal stages. In addition, we observed alterations in the intrinsic excitability and morphological features of layer V pyramidal neurons. Accordingly, we identified distinct voltage-gated ion channels regulated by Nr2f1 that might directly influence intrinsic bioelectrical properties during critical time windows of S1 cortex specification. Altogether, our data suggest a tight link between Nr2f1 and neuronal excitability in the developmental sequence that ultimately sculpts the emergence of cortical network activity within the immature neocortex.


2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (6) ◽  
pp. 2125-2136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Z. Kim ◽  
Julie Vienne ◽  
Michael Rosbash ◽  
Leslie C. Griffith

Homeostatic control of intrinsic excitability is important for long-term regulation of neuronal activity. In conjunction with many other forms of plasticity, intrinsic homeostasis helps neurons maintain stable activity regimes in the face of external input variability and destabilizing genetic mutations. In this study, we report a mechanism by which Drosophila melanogaster larval motor neurons stabilize hyperactivity induced by the loss of the delayed rectifying K+ channel Shaker cognate B ( Shab), by upregulating the Ca2+-dependent K+ channel encoded by the slowpoke ( slo) gene. We also show that loss of SLO does not trigger a reciprocal compensatory upregulation of SHAB, implying that homeostatic signaling pathways utilize compensatory pathways unique to the channel that was mutated. SLO upregulation due to loss of SHAB involves nuclear Ca2+ signaling and dCREB, suggesting that the slo homeostatic response is transcriptionally mediated. Examination of the changes in gene expression induced by these mutations suggests that there is not a generic transcriptional response to increased excitability in motor neurons, but that homeostatic compensations are influenced by the identity of the lost conductance. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The idea that activity-dependent homeostatic plasticity is driven solely by firing has wide credence. In this report we show that homeostatic compensation after loss of an ion channel conductance is tailored to identity of the channel lost, not its properties.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document