Interneurons in Area CA1 Stratum Radiatum and Stratum Oriens Remain Functionally Connected to Excitatory Synaptic Input in Chronically Epileptic Animals

1997 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 1504-1515 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Rempe ◽  
E. H. Bertram ◽  
J. M. Williamson ◽  
E. W. Lothman

Rempe, D. A., E. H. Bertram, J. M. Williamson, and E. W. Lothman. Interneurons in area CA1 stratum radiatum and stratum oriens remain functionally connected to excitatory synaptic input in chronically epileptic animals. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 1504–1515, 1997. Past work has demonstrated a reduction of stimulus-evoked inhibitory input to hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells in chronic models of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). It has been postulated that this reduction in inhibition results from impaired excitation of inhibitory interneurons. In this report, we evaluate the connectivity of area CA1 interneurons to their excitatory afferents in hippocampal-parahippocampal slices obtained from a rat model of chronic TLE. Rats were made chronically epileptic by a period of continuous electrical stimulation of the hippocampus, which establishes an acute condition of self-sustained limbic status epilepticus (SSLSE). This period of SSLSE is followed by a development of chronic recurrent spontaneous limbic seizures that are associated with chronic neuropathological changes reminiscent of those encountered in human TLE. Under visual control, whole cell patch-clamp recordings of interneurons and pyramidal cells were obtained in area CA1 of slices taken from adult, chronically epileptic post-SSLSE rats. Neurons were activated by means of electrodes positioned in stratum radiatum. Intrinsic membrane properties, including resting membrane potential, action potential (AP) threshold, AP half-height width, and membrane impedance, were unchanged in interneurons from chronically epileptic (post-SSLSE) tissue compared with control tissue. Single stimuli delivered to stratum radiatum evoked depolarizing excitatory postsynaptic potentials and APs in interneurons, whereas paired-pulse stimulation evoked facilitation of the postsynaptic current (PSC) in both control and post-SSLSE tissue. No differences between interneurons in control versus post-SSLSE tissue could be found with respect to the mean stimulus intensity or mean stimulus duration needed to evoke an AP. A multiple linear regression analysis over a range of stimulus intensities demonstrated that a greater number of APs could be evoked in interneurons in post-SSLSE tissue compared with control tissue. Spontaneous PSCs were observed in area CA1 interneurons in both control and post-SSLSE tissue and were markedly attenuated by glutamatergic antagonists. In conclusion, our data suggest that stimulus-evoked and spontaneous excitatory synaptic input to area CA1 interneurons remains functional in an animal model of chronic temporal lobe epilepsy. These findings suggest, therefore, that the apparent decrease of polysynaptic inhibitory PSPs in CA1 pyramidal cells in epileptic tissue is not due to a deficit in excitatory transmission from Schaffer collaterals to interneurons in stratum radiatum and straum oriens.

1995 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 829-840 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. S. Mangan ◽  
D. A. Rempe ◽  
E. W. Lothman

1. In this report we compare changes in inhibitory neurotransmission within the CA1 region and the dentate gyrus (DG) in a model of chronic temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Extracellular and intracellular recordings were obtained in combined hippocampal-parahippocampal slices > or = 1 mo after a period of self-sustaining limbic status epilepticus (SSLSE) induced by continuous hippocampal stimulation. 2. Polysynaptic inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) were induced by positioning electrodes to activate specific afferent pathways and evoking responses in the absence of glutamate receptor antagonists [D(-)-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV) and 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX)]. Polysynaptic IPSPs were evoked in CA1 pyramidal cells from electrodes positioned in stratum radiatum and in stratum lacunosum/moleculare. Polysynaptic IPSPs were evoked in DG granule cells from electrodes positioned over the perforant path located in the subiculum. Monosynaptic IPSPs were induced by positioning electrodes within 200 microns of the intracellular recording electrode (near site stimulation) and stimulating in the presence of APV and CNQX to block ionotropic glutamate receptors. Monosynaptic IPSPs were evoked in CA1 pyramidal cells with electrodes positioned in the stratum lacunosum/moleculare and stratum pyramidale. Monosynaptic IPSPs were evoked in DG granule cells with electrodes positioned in the stratum moleculare. 3. Population spike (PS) amplitudes were employed to assure that a full range of stimulus strengths, from subthreshold for action potentials to an intensity giving maximal-amplitude PSs, was used to elicit polysynaptic IPSPs in CA1 pyramidal cells in both post-SSLSE and control slices. In control tissue, polysynaptic IPSPs were biphasic, composed of early and late events. In post-SSLSE tissue, polysynaptic IPSPs were markedly diminished. The diminution of polysynaptic IPSPs was detected at all levels of stimulus intensity. Both early IPSPs [mediated by gamma-aminobutyric acid-A (GABAA) receptors] and late IPSPs (mediated by GABAB receptors) were diminished. Polysynaptic IPSPs were diminished with both stratum radiatum and with stratum lacunosum/moleculare stimulation. 4. Reversal potentials for either polysynaptic early or polysynaptic late IPSPs evoked in CA1 pyramidal cells by stratum radiatum stimulation were not different in slices from post-SSLSE animals as compared with control animals. Likewise, reversal potentials for either polysynaptic early or polysynaptic late IPSPs evoked by stratum lacunosum/moleculare stimulation did not differ in the two groups. These findings excluded changes in driving force as an explanation for the diminished amplitude of IPSPs in CA1 pyramidal cells in the post-SSLSE model.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


1995 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 841-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. W. Lothman ◽  
D. A. Rempe ◽  
P. S. Mangan

1. In this report we compare changes of excitatory neurotransmission within the CA1 region and the dentate gyrus (DG) in a model of chronic temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Extracellular and intracellular recordings were obtained from in vitro hippocampal-parahippocampal slices > or = 1 mo after a period of self-sustaining limbic status epilepticus (SSLSE) induced by continuous hippocampal stimulation. Pyramidal cells in CA1 were activated by electrodes in the stratum lacunosum/moleculare or stratum radiatum. Granule cells in DG were similarly activated by electrodes positioned in the perforant path. 2. Monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) evoked in CA1 pyramidal cells in post-SSLSE tissue were always longer than those evoked in control tissue, irrespective of whether hyperresponsiveness was present or not. EPSPs elicited by stimulus subthreshold for action potentials (APs) in post-SSLSE and in control slices and matched in amplitude had a statistically greater duration in the post-SSLSE slices. Durations of monosynaptic EPSPs elicited by stimuli subthreshold for APs in DG granule cells in post-SSLSE slices were not longer than EPSPs of equal amplitude elicited in control slices. 3. Higher-intensity stimuli produced EPSPs with associated APs and, in certain cases in the post-SSLSE tissue, hyperresponsive events with multiple (> or = 3) APs. Durations of depolarizing profiles with stimuli producing APs were overall longer in both CA1 pyramidal cells and DG granule cells and correlated with the degree of hyperresponsiveness. 4. Neither the amplitudes nor the durations of monosynaptic EPSPs evoked in CA1 pyramidal cells in slices from control animals were affected by the addition of D(-)-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV), a blocker of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, to the artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) bathing the slices. In contrast to the situation in control tissue, in post-SSLSE tissue APV shortened EPSPs evoked in CA1 pyramidal cells while not changing their amplitudes. After APV, inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) remained greatly diminished or absent in CA1 pyramidal cells. APV did not statistically decrease amplitudes of monosynaptic EPSPs evoked in DG granule cells in either control slices or post-SSLSE slices. APV decreased EPSP durations in both types of slices, more so in the post-SSLSE tissue. 5. In control slices, APV did not change the amplitudes or durations of depolarizing profiles of responses evoked by stimuli producing APs in CA1. Similarly, APV did not change the amplitudes of such responses in DG. However, APV did reduce the durations of such responses in DG in control slices.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Hippocampus ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 594-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Ajoy K. Thamattoor ◽  
Christopher LeRoy ◽  
Paul S. Buckmaster

1995 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 816-828 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Rempe ◽  
P. S. Mangan ◽  
E. W. Lothman

1. Extracellular and intracellular recording techniques were employed in brain slice preparations to characterize responses of hippocampal tissue in the post-self sustaining limbic status epilepticus (post-SSLSE) model of chronic temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) as compared with responses in slices from control animals. Experiments were performed > or = 1 mo, and up to 7 mo, after status epilepticus. Two regions of the hippocampal formation linked to different aspects of epileptogenesis, the CA1 region and the dentate gyrus (DG), were studied. In any given experiment, CA1 and DG were examined in different slices from the same animal. 2. Pyramidal cells in CA1 were activated by means of electrodes positioned over fiber bundles that monosynaptically project to these cells, either those located in the stratum lacunosum/moleculare or those in the stratum radiatum. Granule cells were similarly activated by electrodes positioned in the perforant path. Full input-output curves were determined by varying stimulus strength and charting the amplitudes of population spikes (PSs). 3. Two indexes, stimulus sensitivity and responsiveness, were quantified in control tissue and in post-SSLSE tissue by means of input-output curves to provide comparisons between normal and epileptic tissue. There were no changes in stimulus sensitivity, defined as the stimulus intensity required to evoke comparable responses in input-output curves, between control and post-SSLSE tissue. However, responsiveness, defined as the number of extracellular PSs or intracellular action potentials (APs) elicited by a stimulus strength giving rise to maximal-amplitude PSs, proved a reliable method for identifying and categorizing epileptic responses. This index allowed for comparisons between anatomic regions within an experiment as well as among experiments for the same region. Both CA1 pyramidal cells and DG granule cells from post-SSLSE tissue showed hyperresponsiveness relative to control tissue. 4. Control tissue never exhibited > 2 PSs in either CA1 or DG in response to stimuli that produced maximal-amplitude PSs. Therefore a criterion of > or = 3 PSs was adopted to delineate tissue as hyperresponsive on the basis of extracellular responses. In CA1 about one half of the post-SSLSE slices displayed > or = 3 PSs with stimuli giving maximal-amplitude PSs, meeting the criterion for hyperresponsiveness; in DG about one fifth of the slices showed hyperresponsiveness. 5. CA1 and DG differed with respect to the spectrum of hyperresponsiveness they exhibited, this being more robust in CA1. The two regions studied also showed heterogeneity with respect to maximal PS amplitudes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-263
Author(s):  
Ivan Marchionni ◽  
Michelle Oberoi ◽  
Ivan Soltesz ◽  
Allyson Alexander

2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
pp. 3007-3011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Rong Shao ◽  
F. Edward Dudek

The hippocampus sends efferent fibers to the subiculum, which projects to the entorinal cortex. Previous studies suggest that the hippocampal CA1 area may receive a projection back from the subiculum. This hypothesis was tested using whole cell recording from CA1 pyramidal cells while subicular neurons were selectively stimulated with focal flash photolysis of caged glutamate, which avoids stimulation of fibers of passage. Control experiments showed that focal flash stimulations caused direct glutamate-mediated depolarizations and bursts of action potentials in the recorded CA1 pyramidal cells, but only when the stimulation targeted the somatodendritic regions of a neuron, not the axons. To block GABAA-mediated inhibition and isolate local excitatory circuits, bicuculline was applied to minislices containing only the isolated CA1 area and the subiculum. Of 24 CA1 pyramidal cells, 25% (6 of 24) consistently generated repetitive excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in response to flash stimulation in the subiculum. The responsive neurons were located 200–500 μm from the distal end of CA1 and 400–1,100 μm from the stimulation sites in subiculum, suggesting excitatory synaptic projections from the subicular neurons to CA1 pyramidal cells. This study provides new electrophysiological evidence that CA1 pyramidal cells receive excitatory synaptic input from the subiculum. Thus a reciprocal excitatory synaptic circuit connects the subiculum and the CA1 area in the normal adult rat.


2005 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 896-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul S. Buckmaster

The predominant excitatory synaptic input to the hippocampus arises from entorhinal cortical axons that synapse with dentate granule cells, which in turn synapse with CA3 pyramidal cells.Thus two highly excitable brain areas—the entorhinal cortex and the CA3 field—are separated by dentate granule cells, which have been proposed to function as a gate or filter. However, unlike rats, primates have “dentate” CA3 pyramidal cells with an apical dendrite that extends into the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus, where they could receive strong, monosynaptic, excitatory synaptic input from the entorhinal cortex. To test this possibility, the dentate gyrus molecular layer was stimulated while intracellular recordings were obtained from CA3 pyramidal cells in hippocampal slices from neurologically normal macaque monkeys. Stimulus intensity of the outer molecular layer of the dentate gyrus was standardized by the threshold intensity for evoking a dentate gyrus field potential population spike. Recorded proximal CA3 pyramidal cells were labeled with biocytin, processed with diaminobenzidine for visualization, and classified according to their dendritic morphology. In response to stimulation of the dentate gyrus molecular layer, action potential thresholds were similar in proximal CA3 pyramidal cells with different dendritic morphologies. These findings do not support the hypothesis that dentate CA3 pyramidal cells receive stronger synaptic input from the entorhinal cortex than do other proximal CA3 pyramidal cells.


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