scholarly journals Electrophysiological Diversity of Layer 5 Pyramidal Cells in the Prefrontal Cortex of the Rhesus Monkey: In Vitro Slice Studies

2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (5) ◽  
pp. 2622-2632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Ming Chang ◽  
Jennifer I. Luebke

Whole cell patch-clamp recordings were employed to characterize the electrophysiological properties of layer 5 pyramidal cells in slices of the prefrontal cortex (Area 46) of the rhesus monkey. Four electrophysiologically distinct cell types were discriminated based on distinctive repetitive action potential (AP) firing patterns and single AP characteristics: regular-spiking slowly adapting type-1 cells (RS1; 62%), regular-spiking slowly adapting type-2 cells (RS2; 18%), regular-spiking fast-adapting cells (FA; 15%), and intrinsically bursting cells (IB; 5%). These cells did not differ with regard to their location in layer 5 nor in their dendritic morphology. In RS1 cells, AP threshold and amplitude did not change significantly during a 2-s spike train, whereas in RS2 and FA cells, AP threshold increased significantly and AP amplitude decreased significantly during the train. In FA cells, complete adaptation of AP firing was observed within 600 ms. IB cells displayed an all-or-none burst of three to six APs, followed by RS1-type firing behavior. RS1 cells could be further subdivided into three subtypes. Low-threshold spiking (LTS) RS1 cells exhibited an initial doublet riding on a depolarizing potential at the onset of a spike train and a prominent depolarizing afterpotential (DAP); intermediate RS1 cells (IM) exhibited a DAP, but no initial doublet, and non-LTS RS1 cells exhibited neither a DAP nor an initial doublet. RS2 and FA cells did not exhibit a DAP or initial doublets. The distinctive firing patterns of these diverse layer 5 pyramidal cells may reflect different roles played by these cells in the mediation of subcortical neuronal activity by the dorsolateral PFC.

2018 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 1329-1339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitry Tebaykin ◽  
Shreejoy J. Tripathy ◽  
Nathalie Binnion ◽  
Brenna Li ◽  
Richard C. Gerkin ◽  
...  

Patch-clamp electrophysiology is widely used to characterize neuronal electrical phenotypes. However, there are no standard experimental conditions for in vitro whole cell patch-clamp electrophysiology, complicating direct comparisons between data sets. In this study, we sought to understand how basic experimental conditions differ among laboratories and how these differences might impact measurements of electrophysiological parameters. We curated the compositions of external bath solutions (artificial cerebrospinal fluid), internal pipette solutions, and other methodological details such as animal strain and age from 509 published neurophysiology articles studying rodent neurons. We found that very few articles used the exact same experimental solutions as any other, and some solution differences stem from recipe inheritance from advisor to advisee as well as changing trends over the years. Next, we used statistical models to understand how the use of different experimental conditions impacts downstream electrophysiological measurements such as resting potential and action potential width. Although these experimental condition features could explain up to 43% of the study-to-study variance in electrophysiological parameters, the majority of the variability was left unexplained. Our results suggest that there are likely additional experimental factors that contribute to cross-laboratory electrophysiological variability, and identifying and addressing these will be important to future efforts to assemble consensus descriptions of neurophysiological phenotypes for mammalian cell types. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This article describes how using different experimental methods during patch-clamp electrophysiology impacts downstream physiological measurements. We characterized how methodologies and experimental solutions differ across articles. We found that differences in methods can explain some, but not all, of the study-to-study variance in electrophysiological measurements. Explicitly accounting for methodological differences using statistical models can help correct downstream electrophysiological measurements for cross-laboratory methodology differences.


2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 2324-2336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriano Augusto Cattani ◽  
Valérie Delphine Bonfardin ◽  
Alfonso Represa ◽  
Yehezkel Ben-Ari ◽  
Laurent Aniksztejn

Cell-surface glutamate transporters are essential for the proper function of early cortical networks because their dysfunction induces seizures in the newborn rat in vivo. We have now analyzed the consequences of their inhibition by dl-TBOA on the activity of the developing CA1 rat hippocampal network in vitro. dl-TBOA generated a pattern of recurrent depolarization with an onset and decay of several seconds' duration in interneurons and pyramidal cells. These slow network oscillations (SNOs) were mostly mediated by γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in pyramidal cells and by GABA and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in interneurons. However, in both cell types SNOs were blocked by NMDA receptor antagonists, suggesting that their generation requires a glutamatergic drive. Moreover, in interneurons, SNOs were still generated after the blockade of NMDA-mediated synaptic currents with MK-801, suggesting that SNOs are expressed by the activation of extrasynaptic NMDA receptors. Long-lasting bath application of glutamate or NMDA failed to induce SNOs, indicating that they are generated by periodic but not sustained activation of NMDA receptors. In addition, SNOs were observed in interneurons recorded in slices with or without the strata pyramidale and oriens, suggesting that the glutamatergic drive may originate from the radiatum and pyramidale strata. We propose that in the absence of an efficient transport of glutamate, the transmitter diffuses in the extracellular space to activate extrasynaptic NMDA receptors preferentially present on interneurons that in turn activate other interneurons and pyramidal cells. This periodic neuronal coactivation may contribute to the generation of seizures when glutamate transport dysfunction is present.


2001 ◽  
Vol 280 (6) ◽  
pp. R1815-R1822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier E. Stern ◽  
Mike Ludwig

To study modulatory actions of nitric oxide (NO) on GABAergic synaptic activity in hypothalamic magnocellular neurons in the supraoptic nucleus (SON), in vitro and in vivo electrophysiological recordings were obtained from identified oxytocin and vasopressin neurons. Whole cell patch-clamp recordings were obtained in vitro from immunochemically identified oxytocin and vasopressin neurons. GABAergic synaptic activity was assessed in vitro by measuring GABAA miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs). The NO donor and precursor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and l-arginine, respectively, increased the frequency and amplitude of GABAA mIPSCs in both cell types ( P ≤ 0.001). Retrodialysis of SNP (50 mM) onto the SON in vivo inhibited the activity of both neuronal types ( P ≤ 0.002), an effect that was reduced by retrodialysis of the GABAA-receptor antagonist bicuculline (2 mM, P≤ 0.001). Neurons activated by intravenous infusion of 2 M NaCl were still strongly inhibited by SNP. These results suggest that NO inhibition of neuronal excitability in oxytocin and vasopressin neurons involves pre- and postsynaptic potentiation of GABAergic synaptic activity in the SON.


2000 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 2349-2354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ansalan Stewart ◽  
Robert C. Foehring

Our previous studies of calcium (Ca2+) currents in cortical pyramidal cells revealed that the percentage contribution of each Ca2+ current type to the whole cell Ca2+ current varies from cell to cell. The extent to which these currents are modulated by neurotransmitters is also variable. This study was directed at testing the hypothesis that a major source of this variability is recording from multiple populations of pyramidal cells. We used the whole cell patch-clamp technique to record from dissociated corticocortical, corticostriatal, and corticotectal projecting pyramidal cells. There were significant differences between the three pyramidal cell types in the mean percentage of L-, P-, and N-type Ca2+ currents. For both N- and P-type currents, the range of percentages expressed was small for corticostriatal and corticotectal cells as compared with cells which project to the corpus callosum or to the general population. The variance was significantly different between cell types for N- and P-type currents. These results suggest that an important source of the variability in the proportions of Ca2+ current types present in neocortical pyramidal neurons is recording from multiple populations of pyramidal cells.


2005 ◽  
Vol 94 (5) ◽  
pp. 3009-3022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonid S. Krimer ◽  
Aleksey V. Zaitsev ◽  
Gabriela Czanner ◽  
Sven Kröner ◽  
Guillermo González-Burgos ◽  
...  

In primates, little is known about intrinsic electrophysiological properties of neocortical neurons and their morphological correlates. To classify inhibitory cells (interneurons) in layers 2–3 of monkey dorsolateral prefrontal cortex we used whole cell voltage recordings and intracellular labeling in slice preparation with subsequent morphological reconstructions. Regular spiking pyramidal cells have been also included in the sample. Neurons were successfully segregated into three physiological clusters: regular-, intermediate-, and fast-spiking cells using cluster analysis as a multivariate exploratory technique. When morphological types of neurons were mapped on the physiological clusters, the cluster of regular spiking cells contained all pyramidal cells, whereas the intermediate- and fast-spiking clusters consisted exclusively of interneurons. The cluster of fast-spiking cells contained all of the chandelier cells and the majority of local, medium, and wide arbor (basket) interneurons. The cluster of intermediate spiking cells predominantly consisted of cells with the morphology of neurogliaform or vertically oriented (double-bouquet) interneurons. Thus a quantitative approach enabled us to demonstrate that intrinsic electrophysiological properties of neurons in the monkey prefrontal cortex define distinct cell types, which also display distinct morphologies.


2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Elstrott ◽  
Kelly B. Clancy ◽  
Haani Jafri ◽  
Igor Akimenko ◽  
Daniel E. Feldman

Whisker deflection evokes sparse, low-probability spiking among L2/3 pyramidal cells in rodent somatosensory cortex (S1), with spiking distributed nonuniformly between more and less responsive cells. The cellular and local circuit factors that determine whisker responsiveness across neurons are unclear. To identify these factors, we used two-photon calcium imaging and loose-seal recording to identify more and less responsive L2/3 neurons in S1 slices in vitro, during feedforward recruitment of the L2/3 network by L4 stimulation. We observed a broad gradient of spike recruitment thresholds within local L2/3 populations, with low- and high-threshold cells intermixed. This recruitment gradient was significantly correlated across different L4 stimulation sites, and between L4-evoked and whisker-evoked responses in vivo, indicating that a substantial component of responsiveness is independent of tuning to specific feedforward inputs. Low- and high-threshold L2/3 pyramidal cells differed in L4-evoked excitatory synaptic conductance and intrinsic excitability, including spike threshold and the likelihood of doublet spike bursts. A gradient of intrinsic excitability was observed across neurons. Cells that spiked most readily to L4 stimulation received the most synaptic excitation but had the lowest intrinsic excitability. Low- and high-threshold cells did not differ in dendritic morphology, passive membrane properties, or L4-evoked inhibitory conductance. Thus multiple gradients of physiological properties exist across L2/3 pyramidal cells, with excitatory synaptic input strength best predicting overall spiking responsiveness during network recruitment.


2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 2799-2809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darrell A. Henze ◽  
Guillermo R. González-Burgos ◽  
Nathaniel N. Urban ◽  
David A. Lewis ◽  
German Barrionuevo

Dopaminergic modulation of neuronal networks in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) is believed to play an important role in information processing during working memory tasks in both humans and nonhuman primates. To understand the basic cellular mechanisms that underlie these actions of dopamine (DA), we have investigated the influence of DA on the cellular properties of layer 3 pyramidal cells in area 46 of the macaque monkey PFC. Intracellular voltage recordings were obtained with sharp and whole cell patch-clamp electrodes in a PFC brain-slice preparation. All of the recorded neurons in layer 3 ( n = 86) exhibited regular spiking firing properties consistent with those of pyramidal neurons. We found that DA had no significant effects on resting membrane potential or input resistance of these cells. However DA, at concentrations as low as 0.5 μM, increased the excitability of PFC cells in response to depolarizing current steps injected at the soma. Enhanced excitability was associated with a hyperpolarizing shift in action potential threshold and a decreased first interspike interval. These effects required activation of D1-like but not D2-like receptors since they were inhibited by the D1 receptor antagonist SCH23390 (3 μM) but not significantly altered by the D2 antagonist sulpiride (2.5 μM). These results show, for the first time, that DA modulates the activity of layer 3 pyramidal neurons in area 46 of monkey dorsolateral PFC in vitro. Furthermore the results suggest that, by means of these effects alone, DA modulation would generally enhance the response of PFC pyramidal neurons to excitatory currents that reach the action potential initiation site.


1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (4) ◽  
pp. H1791-H1797 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. S. Piedras-Renteria ◽  
O. D. Sherwood ◽  
P. M. Best

The peptide hormone relaxin has direct, positive inotropic and chronotropic effects on rat hearts in vivo and in vitro. Relaxin's effects on the electrophysiological properties of single quiescent atrial cells from normal rats were investigated with a whole cell patch clamp. Relaxin had a significant inhibitory effect on outward potassium currents. The outward potassium current consisted of a transient component (I(to)) and a sustained component (I(S)). The addition of 100 ng/ml of relaxin inhibited the peak I(to) in a voltage-dependent manner (74% inhibition at a membrane potential of -10 mV to 30% inhibition at +70 mV). The time to reach peak I(to) and the apparent time constant of inactivation of I(to) were increased by relaxin. Dialysis with the protein kinase A inhibitor 5-24 amide (2 microM) prevented relaxin's effects, suggesting an obligatory role for this kinase in the relaxin-dependent regulation of the potassium current.


BMC Biology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathryn R. Cadwell ◽  
Rickard Sandberg ◽  
Xiaolong Jiang ◽  
Andreas S. Tolias

Abstract Individual neurons vary widely in terms of their gene expression, morphology, and electrophysiological properties. While many techniques exist to study single-cell variability along one or two of these dimensions, very few techniques can assess all three features for a single cell. We recently developed Patch-seq, which combines whole-cell patch clamp recording with single-cell RNA-sequencing and immunohistochemistry to comprehensively profile the transcriptomic, morphologic, and physiologic features of individual neurons. Patch-seq can be broadly applied to characterize cell types in complex tissues such as the nervous system, and to study the transcriptional signatures underlying the multidimensional phenotypes of single cells.


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