Evidence from simultaneous intracellular recordings in rat hippocampal slices that area CA3 pyramidal cells innervate dentate hilar mossy cells

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 2167-2180 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. Scharfman
Keyword(s):  
Pyramidal Cell ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Granule Cells ◽  
Hippocampal Slices ◽  
Pyramidal Cells ◽  
Probability Of Failure ◽  
Mossy Cells ◽  
Mossy Cell ◽  
Ca3 Pyramidal Cells ◽  
Area Ca3

1. Simultaneous intracellular recordings of area CA3 pyramidal cells and dentate hilar “mossy” cells were made in rat hippocampal slices to test the hypothesis that area CA3 pyramidal cells excite mossy cells monosynaptically. Mossy cells and pyramidal cells were differentiated by location and electrophysiological characteristics. When cells were impaled near the border of area CA3 and the hilus, their identity was confirmed morphologically after injection of the marker Neurobiotin. 2. Evidence for monosynaptic excitation of a mossy cell by a pyramidal cell was obtained in 7 of 481 (1.4%) paired recordings. In these cases, a pyramidal cell action potential was followed immediately by a 0.40 to 6.75 (mean, 2.26) mV depolarization in the simultaneously recorded mossy cell (mossy cell membrane potentials, -60 to -70 mV). Given that pyramidal cells used an excitatory amino acid as a neurotransmitter (Cotman and Nadler 1987; Ottersen and Storm-Mathisen 1987) and recordings were made in the presence of the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline (25 microM), it is likely that the depolarizations were unitary excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs). 3. Unitary EPSPs of mossy cells were prone to apparent “failure.” The probability of failure was extremely high (up to 0.72; mean = 0.48) if the effects of all presynaptic action potentials were examined, including action potentials triggered inadvertently during other spontaneous EPSPs of the mossy cell. Probability of failure was relatively low (as low as 0; mean = 0.24) if action potentials that occurred during spontaneous activity of the mossy cell were excluded. These data suggest that unitary EPSPs produced by pyramidal cells are strongly affected by concurrent synaptic inputs to the mossy cell. 4. Unitary EPSPs were not clearly affected by manipulation of the mossy cell's membrane potential. This is consistent with the recent report that area CA3 pyramidal cells innervate distal dendrites of mossy cells (Kunkel et al. 1993). Such a distal location also may contribute to the high incidence of apparent failures. 5. Characteristics of unitary EPSPs generated by pyramidal cells were compared with the properties of the unitary EPSPs produced by granule cells. In two slices, pyramidal cell and granule cell inputs to the same mossy cell were compared. In other slices, inputs to different mossy cells were compared. In all experiments, unitary EPSPs produced by granule cells were larger in amplitude but similar in time course to unitary EPSPs produced by pyramidal cells. Probability of failure was lower and paired-pulse facilitation more common among EPSPs triggered by granule cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

On the synchronous activity induced by 4-aminopyridine in the CA3 subfield of juvenile rat hippocampus

1993 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 1018-1029 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Avoli ◽  
C. Psarropoulou ◽  
V. Tancredi ◽  
Y. Fueta
Keyword(s):  
Nmda Receptor ◽  
Gabaa Receptor ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Hippocampal Slices ◽  
Field Potential ◽  
Pyramidal Cells ◽  
Occurrence Rate ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Synchronous Activity ◽  
Ca3 Pyramidal Cells

1. Extracellular field potential and intracellular recordings were made in the CA3 subfield of hippocampal slices obtained from 10- to 24-day-old rats during perfusion with artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) containing the convulsant 4-aminopyridine (4-AP, 50 microM). 2. Three types of spontaneous, synchronous activity were recorded in the presence of 4-AP by employing extracellular microelectrodes positioned in the CA3 stratum (s.) radiatum: first, inter-ictal-like discharges that lasted 0.2-1.2 s and had an occurrence rate of 0.3-1.3 Hz; second, ictal-like events (duration: 3-40 s) that occurred at 4-38 x 10(-3) Hz; and third, large-amplitude (up to 8 mV) negative-going potentials that preceded the onset of the ictal-like events and thus appeared to initiate them. 3. None of these synchronous activities was consistently modified by addition of antagonists of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor to the ACSF. In contrast, the non-NMDA receptor antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX, 2-10 microM) reversibly blocked interictal- and ictallike discharges. The only synchronous, spontaneous activity recorded in this type of medium consisted of the negative-going potentials that were abolished by the GABAA receptor antagonists bicuculline methiodide (5-20 microM) or picrotoxin (50 microM). Hence they were mediated through the activation of the GABAA receptor. 4. Profile analysis of the 4-AP-induced synchronous activity revealed that the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-mediated field potential had maximal negative amplitude in s. lacunosum-moleculare, attained equipotentiality at the border between s. radiatum and s. pyramidale, and became positive-going in s. oriens. These findings indicated that the GABA-mediated field potential presumably represented a depolarization occurring in the dendrites of CA3 pyramidal cells. 5. This conclusion was supported by intracellular analysis of the 4-AP-induced activity. The GABA-mediated potential was reflected by a depolarization of the membrane of CA3 pyramidal cells that triggered a few variable-amplitude, fractionated spikes or fast action potentials. By contrast, the ictal-like discharge was associated with a prolonged depolarization during which repetitive bursts of action potentials occurred. Short-lasting depolarizations with bursts of action potentials occurred during each interictal-like discharge. 6. The GABA-mediated potential recorded intracellularly in the presence of CNQX consisted of a prolonged depolarization (up to 12 s) that was still capable of triggering a few fast action potentials and/or fractionated spikes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

scholarly journals Dentate Gyrus Mossy Cells Share a Role in Pattern Separation with Dentate Granule Cells and Proximal CA3 Pyramidal Cells

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (48) ◽  
pp. 9570-9584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas GoodSmith ◽  
Heekyung Lee ◽  
Joshua P. Neunuebel ◽  
Hongjun Song ◽  
James J. Knierim
Keyword(s):  
Dentate Gyrus ◽  
Granule Cells ◽  
Pyramidal Cells ◽  
Pattern Separation ◽  
Dentate Granule Cells ◽  
Mossy Cells ◽  
Ca3 Pyramidal Cells

Characteristics of local excitatory circuits studied with glutamate microapplication in the CA3 area of rat hippocampal slices

1988 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. P. Christian ◽  
F. E. Dudek
Keyword(s):  
Granule Cells ◽  
Mossy Fiber ◽  
Hippocampal Slices ◽  
Pyramidal Cells ◽  
Firing Frequency ◽  
Block Transmission ◽  
Inhibitory Circuits ◽  
Axon Terminals ◽  
Stratum Pyramidale ◽  
Ca3 Pyramidal Cells

1. Local neuronal circuits in CA3 of hippocampal slices were studied by recording excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs and IPSPs) intracellularly during glutamate microapplication in CA3. Control experiments validated this approach by providing evidence that glutamate microdrops stimulated neurons but not axons-of-passage or axon terminals in CA3. 2. Glutamate microdrops (10-20 mM, 10-20 microns diam) increased the firing frequency of extracellularly recorded dentate granule cells for 5–10 s when applied to their somata but not when applied to their mossy fiber axons and terminals in the hilus and in CA3. 3. Glutamate microapplications to granule cell somata, but not to mossy fiber axons, also increased the frequency of intracellularly recorded EPSPs in CA3 pyramidal cells for 5-10 s. This provided a second line of evidence that glutamate did not cause firing in mossy fiber axons synapsing in CA3. 4. In slices where the CA3 region was surgically separated from the dentate gyrus and CA2, glutamate microdrops placed in the CA3 stratum pyramidale within 400 microns of intracellularly recorded pyramidal cells increased the frequency of EPSPs and IPSPs. Tetrodotoxin (1 microgram/ml) blocked these increases in PSP frequency, indicating that they did not result from glutamate-induced depolarization and associated transmitter release from presynaptic terminals. Increases in PSP frequency were interpreted to reflect glutamate activations of CA3 neurons with local synaptic connections to recorded cells. 5. Low concentrations of picrotoxin (PTX, 5-10 microM) blocked glutamate-induced increases in IPSP frequency and often revealed increases in EPSP frequency where they were not previously observed. This suggests that recurrent inhibitory circuits normally mask or block transmission through recurrent excitatory pathways in CA3. 6. In five experiments following PTX treatment (7.5–10 microM), large and prolonged (up to 2 min) increases in EPSP frequency were observed in CA3 pyramidal cells to glutamate microapplications in CA3. Rhythmic epileptiform bursts eventually occurred in two of these cases, suggesting that the protracted increases in EPSP frequency represent a form of reverberating excitation during a transition from normal to epileptic states. 7. Sixteen CA3 pyramidal cells were recorded in PTX (5-10 microM) during glutamate microapplications at 200 and 400 microns on each side of the recording site. The most consistent glutamate-induced increases in EPSP frequency occurred to microapplications 200 microns from recording sites on the hilar side.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Synchronization of GABAergic Inputs to CA3 Pyramidal Cells Precedes Seizure-Like Event Onset in Juvenile Rat Hippocampal Slices

2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (4) ◽  
pp. 2538-2553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bálint Lasztóczi ◽  
Gabriella Nyitrai ◽  
László Héja ◽  
Julianna Kardos
Keyword(s):  
Pyramidal Cell ◽  
Synaptic Input ◽  
Hippocampal Slices ◽  
Field Potential ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Pyramidal Cells ◽  
High Frequency Oscillation ◽  
Recurrent Seizure ◽  
Cell Firing ◽  
Ca3 Pyramidal Cells

Here we address how dynamics of glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic input to CA3 pyramidal cells contribute to spontaneous emergence and evolution of recurrent seizure-like events (SLEs) in juvenile (P10-13) rat hippocampal slices bathed in low-[Mg2+] artificial cerebrospinal fluid. In field potential recordings from the CA3 pyramidal layer, a short epoch of high-frequency oscillation (HFO; 400–800 Hz) was observed during the first 10 ms of SLE onset. GABAergic synaptic input currents to CA3 pyramidal cells were synchronized and coincided with HFO, whereas the glutamatergic input lagged by ∼10 ms. If the intracellular [Cl−] remained unperturbed (cell-attached recordings) or was set high with whole cell electrode solution, CA3 pyramidal cell firing peaked with HFO and GABAergic input. By contrast, with low intracellular [Cl−], spikes of CA3 pyramidal cells lagged behind HFO and GABAergic input. This temporal arrangement of HFO, synaptic input sequence, synchrony of GABAergic currents, and pyramidal cell firing emerged gradually with preictal discharges until the SLE onset. Blockade of GABAA receptor-mediated currents by picrotoxin reduced the inter-SLE interval and the number of preictal discharges and did not block recurrent SLEs. Our data suggest that dynamic changes of the functional properties of GABAergic input contribute to ictogenesis and GABAergic and glutamatergic inputs are both excitatory at the instant of SLE onset. At the SLE onset GABAergic input contributes to synchronization and recruitment of pyramidal cells. We conjecture that this network state is reached by an activity-dependent shift in GABA reversal potential during the preictal phase.

scholarly journals Adaptive mossy cell circuit plasticity after status epilepticus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corwin R. Butler ◽  
Gary L. Westbrook ◽  
Eric Schnell
Keyword(s):  
Status Epilepticus ◽  
Granule Cells ◽  
Hippocampal Slices ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Cell Loss ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Mossy Cells ◽  
Direct Excitation ◽  
Mossy Cell

SummaryHilar mossy cells control network function in the hippocampus through both direct excitation and di-synaptic inhibition of dentate granule cells (DGCs). Substantial mossy cell loss occurs after epileptic seizures; however the contribution of surviving mossy cells to network activity in the reorganized dentate gyrus is unknown. To examine functional circuit changes after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus, we optogenetically stimulated mossy cells in acute hippocampal slices. In control mice, activation of mossy cells produced monosynaptic excitatory and di-synaptic GABAergic currents in DGCs. In pilocarpine-treated mice, mossy cell density and excitation of DGCs were reduced in parallel, with only a minimal reduction in feedforward inhibition, enhancing the inhibition:excitation ratio. Surprisingly, mossy cell-driven excitation of parvalbumin-positive basket cells, the primary mediators of feed-forward inhibition, was maintained, indicating increased connectivity between surviving mossy cells and these targets. Our results suggest that mossy cell outputs reorganize following seizures, increasing their net inhibitory effect in the hippocampus.

Spontaneous and stimulation-induced synchronized burst afterdischarges in the isolated CA1 of kainate-treated rats

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 2231-2239 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Meier ◽  
F. E. Dudek
Keyword(s):  
Hippocampal Slices ◽  
Pyramidal Cells ◽  
Stratum Radiatum ◽  
Maximal Response ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Population Spikes ◽  
Ca3 Pyramidal Cells ◽  
Ca1 Area ◽  
Hilar Neurons ◽  
Area Ca3

1. Kainate treatment preferentially kills dentate hilar neurons and CA3 pyramidal cells and ultimately leads to a chronic epileptic state. Bicuculline-induced epileptiform bursts were studied to test the hypothesis that multiple kainate injections and consequent status epilepticus would lead-after weeks to months of recovery-to prolonged synchronous afterdischarges in the isolated CA1 area of rat hippocampal slices, as would be expected if new recurrent excitatory circuits had formed. 2. Synaptic responses evoked in CA1 pyramidal cells of rats injected subcutaneously with kainate (10 hourly injections, 5 mg/kg each) 24-316 days before the slice experiment were compared with responses in slices from untreated and saline-injected controls. The maximal response to stratum radiatum stimulation in normal solution consisted of two to eight population spikes. 3. When gamma-aminobutyric acid-A receptor-mediated inhibition was reduced with bicuculline, synchronized burst afterdischarges after the initial stimulation-evoked burst, similar to the type of activity described in area CA3 under conditions where inhibition is impaired, occurred in 23% of slices. 4. The prolonged synchronized burst afterdischarges in the isolated CA1 area of kainate-treated rats were associated with large excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs). These prolonged bursts were not graded with the stimulus intensity; rather, they were triggered in an all-or-none manner, even though there was some variability across bursts. The bursts of population spikes also were correlated with subthreshold EPSPs. 5. Slices that had synchronized burst afterdischarges had significantly more damage in area CA3 than slices without afterdischarges. 6. The data indicate that kainate-induced damage in CA3 can lead to prolonged synchronous afterdischarges, even after CA1 is surgically isolated from the CA3 area. Because the repetitive bursts during the prolonged and synchronous afterdischarges were associated with large EPSPs, these data suggest that kainate-induced damage to CA3 and subsequent degeneration of synaptic terminals in the CA1 area causes the formation of new recurrent excitatory circuits that could be involved in the development of chronic epilepsy.

scholarly journals Blockade of excitation reveals inhibition of dentate spiny hilar neurons recorded in rat hippocampal slices

1992 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 978-984 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. Scharfman
Keyword(s):  
Granule Cells ◽  
Excitatory Amino Acid ◽  
Hippocampal Slices ◽  
Pyramidal Cells ◽  
Perforant Path ◽  
Mossy Cells ◽  
Amino Acid Antagonists ◽  
Hilar Neurons ◽  
Local Circuitry ◽  
Stimulation Of

1. Extracellular and intracellular recordings in rat hippocampal slices were used to compare the synaptic responses to perforant path stimulation of granule cells of the dentate gyrus, spiny “mossy” cells of the hilus, and area CA3c pyramidal cells of hippocampus. Specifically, we asked whether aspects of the local circuitry could explain the relative vulnerability of spiny hilar neurons to various insults to the hippocampus. 2. Spiny hilar cells demonstrated a surprising lack of inhibition after perforant path activation, despite robust paired-pulse inhibition and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) in adjacent granule cells and area CA3c pyramidal cells in response to the same stimulus in the same slice. However, when the slice was perfused with excitatory amino acid antagonists [6-cyano-7-nitro-quinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX), or CNQX with 2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV)], IPSPs could be observed in spiny hilar cells in response to perforant path stimulation. 3. The IPSPs evoked in spiny hilar cells in the presence of CNQX were similar in their reversal potentials and bicuculline sensitivity to IPSPs recorded in dentate granule cells or hippocampal pyramidal cells in the absence of CNQX. 4. These results demonstrate that, at least in slices, perforant path stimulation of spiny hilar cells is primarily excitatory and, when excitation is blocked, underlying inhibition can be revealed. This contrasts to the situation for dentate and hippocampal principal cells, which are ordinarily dominated by inhibition, and only when inhibition is compromised can the full extent of excitation be appreciated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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