QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, April 19, 2006, 26(16):4247-4255; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3812-05.2006

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (11) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Sohal, V. S. Articles by Huguenard, J. R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Sohal, V. S. Articles by Huguenard, J. R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Intrinsic and Synaptic Dynamics Interact to Generate Emergent Patterns of Rhythmic Bursting in Thalamocortical Neurons

Vikaas S. Sohal,¹ Susanne Pangratz-Fuehrer,¹ Uwe Rudolph,² and John R. Huguenard¹

¹Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, California 94305-5122, and ²Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zürich, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland

Correspondence should be addressed to John R. Huguenard at the above address. Email: john.huguenard{at}stanford.edu

Rhythmic inhibition entrains the firing of excitatory neurons during oscillations throughout the brain. Previous work has suggested that the strength and duration of inhibitory input determines the synchrony and period, respectively, of these oscillations. In particular, sleep spindles result from a cycle of events including rhythmic inhibition and rebound bursts in thalamocortical (TC) neurons, and slowing and strengthening this inhibitory input may transform spindles into spike-wave discharges characteristic of absence epilepsy. Here, we used dynamic clamp to inject TC neurons with spindle-like trains of IPSCs and studied how modest changes in the amplitude and/or duration of these IPSCs affected the responses of the TC neurons. Contrary to our expectations, we found that prolonging IPSCs accelerates postinhibitory rebound (PIR) in TC neurons, and that increasing either the amplitude or duration of IPSCs desynchronizes PIR activity in a population of TC cells. Tonic injection of hyperpolarizing or depolarizing current dramatically alters the timing and synchrony of PIR. These results demonstrate that rhythmic PIR activity is an emergent property of interactions between intrinsic and synaptic currents, not just a passive reflection of incoming synaptic inhibition.

Key words: absence epilepsy; dynamic clamp; oscillation; synchrony; GABA_A receptor; inhibition

---

Received Sept. 8, 2005; revised March 11, 2006; accepted March 12, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to John R. Huguenard at the above address. Email: john.huguenard{at}stanford.edu

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Kleiman-Weiner, M. P. Beenhakker, W. A. Segal, and J. R. Huguenard Synergistic Roles of GABAA Receptors and SK Channels in Regulating Thalamocortical Oscillations J Neurophysiol, July 1, 2009; 102(1): 203 - 213. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J.-M. Israel, D. A. Poulain, and S. H. R. Oliet Oxytocin-Induced Postinhibitory Rebound Firing Facilitates Bursting Activity in Oxytocin Neurons J. Neurosci., January 9, 2008; 28(2): 385 - 394. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. M. Schofield and J. R. Huguenard GABA Affinity Shapes IPSCs in Thalamic Nuclei J. Neurosci., July 25, 2007; 27(30): 7954 - 7962. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. P. Bright, M. I. Aller, and S. G. Brickley Synaptic Release Generates a Tonic GABAA Receptor-Mediated Conductance That Modulates Burst Precision in Thalamic Relay Neurons J. Neurosci., March 7, 2007; 27(10): 2560 - 2569. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Olypher, G. Cymbalyuk, and R. L. Calabrese Hybrid Systems Analysis of the Control of Burst Duration by Low-Voltage-Activated Calcium Current in Leech Heart Interneurons J Neurophysiol, December 1, 2006; 96(6): 2857 - 2867. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help