scholarly journals Postsynaptic integrative properties of dorsal CA1 pyramidal neuron subpopulations

2020 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 980-992
Author(s):  
Arjun V. Masurkar ◽  
Chengju Tian ◽  
Richard Warren ◽  
Isabel Reyes ◽  
Daniel C. Lowes ◽  
...  

The population activity of CA1 pyramidal neurons (PNs) segregates along anatomical axes with different behaviors, suggesting that CA1 PNs are functionally subspecialized based on somatic location. In dorsal CA1, spatial encoding is biased toward CA2 (CA1c) and in deep layers of the radial axis. In contrast, nonspatial coding peaks toward subiculum (CA1a) and in superficial layers. While preferential innervation by spatial vs. nonspatial input from entorhinal cortex (EC) may contribute to this specialization, it cannot fully explain the range of in vivo responses. Differences in intrinsic properties thus may play a critical role in modulating such synaptic input differences. In this study we examined the postsynaptic integrative properties of dorsal CA1 PNs in six subpopulations along the transverse (CA1c, CA1b, CA1a) and radial (deep, superficial) axes. Our results suggest that active and passive properties of deep and superficial neurons evolve over the transverse axis to promote the functional specialization of CA1c vs. CA1a as dictated by their cortical input. We also find that CA1b is not merely an intermediate mix of its neighbors, but uniquely balances low excitability with superior input integration of its mixed input, as may be required for its proposed role in sequence encoding. Thus synaptic input and intrinsic properties combine to functionally compartmentalize CA1 processing into at least three transverse axis regions defined by the processing schemes of their composite radial axis subpopulations. NEW & NOTEWORTHY There is increasing interest in CA1 pyramidal neuron heterogeneity and the functional relevance of this diversity. We find that active and passive properties evolve over the transverse and radial axes in dorsal CA1 to promote the functional specialization of CA1c and CA1a for spatial and nonspatial memory, respectively. Furthermore, CA1b is not a mean of its neighbors, but features low excitability and superior integrative capabilities, relevant to its role in nonspatial sequence encoding.

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1838) ◽  
pp. 20161032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gildas Merceron ◽  
Anusha Ramdarshan ◽  
Cécile Blondel ◽  
Jean-Renaud Boisserie ◽  
Noël Brunetiere ◽  
...  

Both dust and silica phytoliths have been shown to contribute to reducing tooth volume during chewing. However, the way and the extent to which they individually contribute to tooth wear in natural conditions is unknown. There is still debate as to whether dental microwear represents a dietary or an environmental signal, with far-reaching implications on evolutionary mechanisms that promote dental phenotypes, such as molar hypsodonty in ruminants, molar lengthening in suids or enamel thickening in human ancestors. By combining controlled-food trials simulating natural conditions and dental microwear textural analysis on sheep, we show that the presence of dust on food items does not overwhelm the dietary signal. Our dataset explores variations in dental microwear textures between ewes fed on dust-free and dust-laden grass or browse fodders. Browsing diets with a dust supplement simulating Harmattan windswept environments contain more silica than dust-free grazing diets. Yet browsers given a dust supplement differ from dust-free grazers. Regardless of the presence or the absence of dust, sheep with different diets yield significantly different dental microwear textures. Dust appears a less significant determinant of dental microwear signatures than the intrinsic properties of ingested foods, implying that diet plays a critical role in driving the natural selection of dental innovations.


2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (18) ◽  
pp. 6434-6442 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Ascoli ◽  
S. Gasparini ◽  
V. Medinilla ◽  
M. Migliore

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia Wienbar ◽  
Gregory Schwartz

The output of spiking neurons depends both on their synaptic inputs and on their intrinsic properties. Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the spiking projection neurons of the retina, comprise over 40 different types in mice and other mammals, each tuned to different features of visual scenes. The circuits providing synaptic input to different RGC types to drive feature selectivity have been studied extensively, but there has been substantially less research aimed at understanding how the intrinsic properties of RGCs differ and how those differences impact feature selectivity. Here, we introduce an RGC type in the mouse, the Bursty Suppressed-by-Contrast (bSbC) RGC, whose contrast selectivity is shaped by its intrinsic properties. Surprisingly, when we compare the bSbC RGC to the OFF sustained alpha (OFFsA) RGC that receives similar synaptic input, we find that the two RGC types exhibit starkly different responses to an identical stimulus. We identified spike generation as the key intrinsic property behind this functional difference; the bSbC RGC undergoes depolarization block in conditions where the OFFsA RGC maintains a high spike rate. Pharmacological experiments, imaging, and compartment modeling demonstrate that these differences in spike generation are the result of differences in voltage-gated sodium channel conductances. Our results demonstrate that differences in intrinsic properties allow these two RGC types to detect and relay distinct features of an identical visual stimulus to the brain.


2006 ◽  
Vol 1125 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiaki Omori ◽  
Toru Aonishi ◽  
Hiroyoshi Miyakawa ◽  
Masashi Inoue ◽  
Masato Okada

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 394-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan M. Brudzynski ◽  
Michael Wu ◽  
Gordon J. Mogenson

The mesencephalic locomotor region is defined as a functional region sending signals to the spinal cord generators of rhythmical limb movements for locomotion. It has been shown that the mesencephalic locomotor region plays a critical role in locomotion initiated from the nucleus accumbens or from the subpallidal region. However, there are conflicting data on whether synaptic input from the nucleus accumbens – subpallidal region to the mesencephalic locomotor region mediates locomotion. The purpose of the study was to determine the role of synaptic input to different subregions of the mesencephalic locomotor region in locomotion induced by injecting dopamine into the nucleus accumbens or by injecting picrotoxin into the subpallidal region in freely behaving rats. Synaptic transmission in the mesencephalic locomotor region was eliminated by excitotoxic lesions or was reversibly interrupted by injecting cobalt chloride, which can block synaptic transmission. Excitotoxic lesions or injections of cobalt into subregions of the mesencephalic locomotor region significantly decreased, although did not completely block, locomotion. The most effective sites for cobalt- and lesion-induced reduction in locomotion were consistent with localization of the mesencephalic locomotor region. Effective sites for cobalt and lesions markedly overlapped but were not identical. The results indicate that synaptic transmission within the mesencephalic locomotor region contributes to dopamine- or picrotoxin-induced locomotion.Key words: locomotion, mesencephalic locomotor region, nucleus accumbens, ventral pallidum, dopamine, picrotoxin, excitotoxins, cobalt chloride.


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