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The Journal of Neuroscience, July 1, 2000, 20(13):5153-5162
Corticothalamic Inputs Control the Pattern of Activity Generated
in Thalamocortical Networks
Hal
Blumenfeld1, 2 and
David A.
McCormick1
1 Section of Neurobiology and 2 Department
of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven,
Connecticut 06520
Absence seizures (3-4 Hz) and sleep spindles (6-14 Hz) occur
mostly during slow-wave sleep and have been hypothesized to involve the
same corticothalamic network. However, the mechanism by which this
network transforms from one form of activity to the other is not well
understood. Here we examine this question using ferret lateral
geniculate nucleus slices and stimulation of the corticothalamic tract.
A feedback circuit, meant to mimic the cortical influence in
vivo, was arranged such that thalamic burst firing resulted in
stimulation of the corticothalamic tract. Stimuli were either single
shocks to mimic normal action potential firing by cortical neurons or
high-frequency bursts (six shocks at 200 Hz) to simulate increased
cortical firing, such as during seizures. With one corticothalamic stimulus per thalamic burst, 6-10 Hz oscillations resembling spindle waves were generated. However, if the stimulation was a burst, the
network immediately transformed into a 3-4 Hz paroxysmal oscillation. This transition was associated with a strong increase in the burst firing of GABAergic perigeniculate neurons. In addition,
thalamocortical neurons showed a transition from fast (100-150 msec)
IPSPs to slow (~300 msec) IPSPs. The GABAB
receptor antagonist CGP 35348 blocked the slow IPSPs and converted the
3-4 Hz paroxysmal oscillations back to 6-10 Hz spindle waves.
Conversely, the GABAA receptor antagonist picrotoxin
blocked spindle frequency oscillations resulting in 3-4 Hz
oscillations with either single or burst stimuli. We suggest that
differential activation of thalamic GABAA and
GABAB receptors in response to varying corticothalamic
input patterns may be critical in setting the oscillation frequency of
thalamocortical network interactions.
Key words:
GABA; corticothalamic; thalamocortical; absence seizures; petit mal; sleep spindles; epilepsy; sleep; networks
Copyright © 2000 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/00/20135153-10$05.00/0
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