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The Journal of Neuroscience, July 15, 1999, 19(14):5693-5702
Muscarinic Receptor Activity Has Multiple Effects on the Resting
Membrane Potentials of CA1 Hippocampal Interneurons
A. Rory
McQuiston and
Daniel V.
Madison
Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford
University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305
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ABSTRACT |
Inhibitory interneurons appear to be an important target for the
muscarinic actions of cholinergic inputs to the hippocampus. We
investigated the effect of muscarinic receptor activity on the membrane
potential (Vm) and currents of
rat hippocampal CA1 interneurons using whole-cell recording from
visually identified CA1 interneurons. The predominant response observed
was a muscarinic depolarization that was detected in interneurons from
all layers of CA1. This depolarization was mediated by at least two
mechanisms: a reduction in a potassium current and a mechanism that
depended on extracellular sodium. Other interneurons responded to
muscarinic agonists with a hyperpolarization or a biphasic response
(hyperpolarization followed by depolarization). Hyperpolarizations and
biphasic responses were found in all layers of CA1 but more frequently
in stratum radiatum and stratum lacunosum moleculare. Muscarinic
hyperpolarization was caused by the activation of a barium- and
cesium-sensitive inwardly rectifying potassium channel. A small number
of interneurons, primarily in or bordering the stratum pyramidale,
produced slow membrane potential (0.04 Hz) oscillations. Many
interneurons did not respond to muscarinic activity at all; half of
these were in the stratum oriens. There was no strong correlation
between any changes in Vm response to
muscarine and morphology, as determined by reconstruction of the
interneurons. It was not possible to predict the morphology or the
layer distribution of an interneuron based on the type of muscarinic
membrane potential response it had. This lack of correlation between
muscarinic function and morphology implies a greater complexity of
interneuron function than has been realized previously.
Key words:
acetylcholine; muscarinic receptor; hippocampus; CA1; membrane potential; interneuron
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INTRODUCTION |
Acetylcholine (ACh) plays an
important role in activating cortical regions, including the
hippocampus. Synaptic inputs from the medial septal to the hippocampus,
including both cholinergic and GABAergic afferents, are essential for a
certain type of theta rhythm that has been correlated with attentive
behavior (Bland, 1990 ) and appears to be generated by interneurons
(Soltesz and Deschênes, 1993 ; Ylinen et al., 1995 ; Tóth et
al., 1997 ). Furthermore, cholinergic dysfunction in the hippocampus has
also been described in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative
diseases (Kása et al., 1997 ). In addition to the well described
depletion of cholinergic input to the hippocampus, certain types of
muscarinic receptors, e.g., m2, are also downregulated in Alzheimer's
disease (Quirion et al., 1989 ). Interestingly, the m2 receptor is found
on certain types of hippocampal interneurons (Levey et al., 1995 ;
Hájos et al., 1998 ). The cholinergic projection responsible for
these functions may terminate, in part, on interneurons.
Interneurons appear to perform specific and varying functions in the
hippocampus (for review, see Freund and Buzsáki, 1996 ). Specific
inhibitory interneurons have been shown to selectively terminate on
either pyramidal neurons, cell bodies, axon hillocks (Gulyás et
al., 1993a ; Buhl et al., 1994 ; McBain et al., 1994 ; Sik et al., 1995 ;
Miles et al., 1996 ), dendrites (Gulyás et al., 1993a ,b ; Han et
al., 1993 ; Sik et al., 1995 ; Miles et al., 1996 ), or other interneurons
exclusively (Acsady et al., 1996 ; Gulyás et al., 1996 ;
Hájos et al., 1996 ; Blasco-Ibanez et al., 1998 ). Thus, subtypes
of interneurons may have specific roles in regulating hippocampal
functions and may respond differently to muscarinic activity.
Muscarinic receptor activation has been shown to depolarize CA1
pyramidal neurons by the inhibition of a resting potassium channel
(Benardo and Prince, 1982 ; Madison et al., 1987 ). The effect of
muscarinic receptor activity on hippocampal interneurons appears to be
more complex and not as well understood. Some CA1 interneurons are
depolarized by muscarinic agonists (Benardo and Prince, 1982 ; Reece and
Schwartzkroin, 1991 ); this leads to an increase in spontaneous GABA
inhibitory events measured in pyramidal cells (Pitler and Alger, 1992 ;
Behrends and ten Bruggencate, 1993 ). More recently, a preliminary study
of the effects of muscarinic receptor activity on different interneuron
subtypes has shown that, whereas some interneurons are hyperpolarized,
others are unaffected (Parra et al., 1998 ); the ionic bases for these
effects were not reported.
In the present study, we investigated in detail the effect of
muscarinic receptor activity on the membrane potential
(Vm) of hippocampal interneurons
throughout CA1. We describe the physiological effects of muscarinic
activity and correlate the anatomy of these interneurons with different
types of responses.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS |
Male rats (almost all 18- to 25-d-old, but with a few ranging
from 16- to 54-d-old) were anesthetized under halothane and killed by decapitation. Their brains were removed and placed in cold, oxygenated saline [(in mM): NaCl 119, KCl 2.5, CaCl2 1.0, MgCl2 3, NaHPO4 1, NaHCO3 26.2, glucose 11, and kynurenic acid 1, pH
7.4]. Brains were hemisected, sectioned coronally (300- to
400-µm-thick) on a Vibratome (Lancer, Technical Products
International, St. Louis, MO), and maintained in buffer, first at
30°C (30 min) and then at room temperature (~23°C); under these
conditions, slices were viable for 2-4 hr.
For recording, the tissue slice was placed in a recording chamber
mounted on the stage of a modified Nikon Optiphot 2 microscope (Technical Instruments, San Francisco, CA). The slice was placed on a
cover glass on the bottom of the recording chamber and superfused with
aerated room temperature saline [(in mM): NaCl 119, KCl
2.5, CaCl2 2.5, MgSO4 1.3, NaHPO4
1, NaHCO3 26.2, and glucose 11, pH 7.4]. Slices were
visualized using a 40× water-immersion objective illuminated with
near-infrared light. The image was collected by a Hamamatsu C2400 CCD
camera (Hamamatsu Corporation, Bridgewater, NJ) with contrast
enhancement. The image was displayed on a video monitor, and glass
patch pipettes were visually advanced through the slice to the surface
of the cell from which to be recorded. Whole-cell patch-clamp
recordings were made from visualized interneurons in all layers of area
CA1 (MacVicar, 1984 ; Dodt and Zieglgansberger, 1990 ).
Patch pipettes were fabricated from borosilicate glass (KG33; 1.5 mm
outer diameter, 1.0 mm inner diameter; Garner Glass Co., Claremont,
CA). The intracellular solution was a gluconate-HEPES buffer
[(in mM): K gluconate 130, NaCl 8, HEPES 10, MgATP 2, Na3GTP 0.3, and BAPTAK4 0.1, pH 7.25]. When
neurobiotin (0.5%) was included in the internal solution to label
cells, K gluconate was reduced to 120 mM to maintain osmolarity.
Membrane potentials and/or currents from interneurons were monitored
with an Axoclamp 2A amplifier (Axon Instruments, Foster City, CA)
acquired through an MIO-1 analog-to-digital interface (National
Instruments, Austin, TX) onto a Pentium personal computer (Gateway
2000, North Sioux City, SD) using software written in LabView (National
Instruments) by members of our laboratory (Stanford, CA) (Eric Schaible
and Paul Pavlidis). Data were analyzed using another program written in
LabView and Axum (Mathsoft Inc., Cambridge, MA), a commercially
available program. Statistical significance was determined by a
two-tailed unpaired Student's t test for data of unequal
variance. Values are reported as mean ± SEM.
Drugs were applied by bath superfusion or by pressure application onto
the somata of the cell under investigation via a Picospritzer II
(General Valve Corp., Fairfield, NJ). Muscarinic responses were
produced by bath application of muscarine, carbachol, or ACh or
pressure ejection of ACh. To prevent the activation of nicotinic
receptors, the nicotinic antagonists -bungarotoxin (100 nM) or methyllycaconitine (10 nM) and
mecamylamine (10 µM) were used with carbachol and
ACh. For pressure application, ACh (100 µM) was dissolved
in a solution similar to the extracellular saline, except that the
NaHCO3 was replaced by HEPES (pH 7.4 with NaOH).
Cell morphology was visualized by labeling with neurobiotin (Bolam,
1992 ). For this procedure, slices were fixed overnight in
buffered formalin (0.1 M phosphate buffer, 4%
paraformaldehyde, 0.05% glutaraldehyde, and 0.2% picric acid),
embedded in gelatin, and sectioned (100 µm). Sections were
permeabilized (0.5% Triton X-100), treated with 0.3%
H2O2 to reduce background, and incubated overnight in avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (Elite Vectastain ABC
kit; Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA). Sections were then stained
with diaminobenzidine, intensified with nickel, mounted on slides,
cleared, and coverslipped. All fills were made in animals between 18 and 25 d old.
All chemicals were purchased from Fluka (Milwaukee, WI), except for the
following: (±)-muscarine, acetylcholine, -bungarotoxin, mecamylamine, and methyllycaconitine (Research Biochemicals, Natick, MA); tetrodotoxin (TTX) (Calbiochem, La Jolla, CA); and
paraformaldehyde (Electron Microscopy Sciences, Fort Washington, PA).
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RESULTS |
We used whole-cell patch-clamp recording to determine the effect
of muscarinic receptor activation on the resting
Vm of 314 visually identified
interneurons in all layers of rat hippocampal area CA1. We surveyed
changes in interneuronal Vm, analyzed the ionic mechanisms contributing to changes in
Vm, and attempted to correlate
differences in cell morphology with ionic mechanisms.
Muscarinic receptor activity has multiple effects on the membrane
potential of interneurons
Activation of muscarinic receptors on interneurons of all layers
of CA1 showed a variety of responses (Table
1). The majority of interneurons were
depolarized (Fig. 1A)
when exposed to muscarinic agonist. Others were hyperpolarized (Fig.
1B) or displayed a biphasic response
(hyperpolarization followed by depolarization) (Fig. 1C)
when treated with muscarinic agonists; however, a significant number of
interneurons showed no change in Vm (Table
1).

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Figure 1.
The effects of muscarinic receptor activation on
the resting Vm of CA1 interneurons.
Ai, Bath application of carbachol (10 µM)
(bar) caused an interneuron to depolarize. Downward
deflections show the Vm response to
injections of hyperpolarizing current (20 pA, 600 msec) to monitor the
Ri ( dc) of the cell.
Ri did not appear to change during
depolarization. Aii, Pressure application of ACh (100 µM, 500 msec, 10 psi, in the presence of nicotinic
antagonists; bar) onto the cell body caused a brief,
delayed depolarization (left) that was blocked by bath
application of atropine (1 µM) (right).
Bi, Hyperpolarization in response to bath application of
carbachol (10 µM) (bar). Downward
deflections show the Vm response to
hyperpolarizing current injection (600 msec, 20 pA). Notice the
decreased Vm response during the
hyperpolarization, indicative of a reduction in
Ri. Bii, Pressure application
of ACh (500 msec, 10 psi) (bar) onto the cell body of
another interneuron caused a rapid hyperpolarization
(left) that was blocked by atropine (1 µM)
(right). Ci, Biphasic response to the
application of muscarine (10 µM): a fast brief
hyperpolarization followed by a slower longer depolarization. Downward
deflections show the response of Vm to
hyperpolarizing current injections (600 msec, 20 pA) to monitor
Ri. Cii, The response of
another interneuron to pressure application of ACh (100 µM, 10 psi, 500 msec, in the presence of nicotinic
antagonists) (bar, left). The cell
responded with a large rapid hyperpolarization followed by a
depolarization of sufficient amplitude to evoke action potentials. This
biphasic response was inhibited by atropine (1 µM)
(right).
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The most common response to muscarinic receptor activation (47%)
(Table 1) was depolarization. This depolarization averaged ~15 mV in
amplitude (+14.5 ± 0.6 mV; n = 102;
p < 0.0003; z test), although this value
will presumably vary from cell to cell depending on its resting
potential. Two examples are shown in Figure 1A. Bath
application of carbachol (10 µM) (Fig.
1Ai) caused a depolarization of sufficient magnitude
to cause a barrage of action potentials (APs) that lasted for several
minutes. Cells exposed to carbachol for 1-2 min returned to resting
Vm only after 20 to 30 min. Hyperpolarizing pulses were used to monitor input resistance of the cell
(Ri). The Ri
during the muscarinic depolarization (Fig. 1Ai,
dc, current was injected to return the
Vm to control level) was not different from the
Ri preceding carbachol application. Changes in
Ri caused by muscarinic depolarizations varied
among interneurons; some neurons showed no change in
Ri, others showed a decrease, and yet
others showed an increase. However, when the data were pooled, there
was no significant difference in the Ri during
depolarization ( 0.8 ± 2.1%; n = 58;
p > 0.65; z test).
Muscarinic depolarizations could also be produced by brief (100 msec)
pressure application of ACh (100 µM) directly onto the interneuron cell body (Fig. 1Aii) from a pipette
located ~30 µm away. The depolarization was sufficient to evoke APs
(left) and was blocked by the muscarinic receptor antagonist
atropine (1 µM; n = 8)
(right). This permitted more rapid responses (~20 sec duration) and shorter interapplication intervals (~2 min) for subsequent drug applications. These muscarinic responses were not
inhibited by bath application of TTX (1 µm) and/or cadmium (200 µm)
(n = 5), which suggests these effects were the result of the direct action of the muscarinic agonist on the interneurons and
not indirectly the result of the release of some other modulator.
Another subset of interneurons were hyperpolarized (17%; 11.9 ± 0.6 mV; n = 53; p < 0.00003;
z test) (Table 1) by muscarinic receptor activity (Fig.
1B, Table 1). Bath application of the carbachol
caused a hyperpolarization, which was associated with decreased
Ri (a smaller Vm
response to constant hyperpolarizing current injection) (Fig.
1Bi, +dc, downward deflections). This was
a consistent finding among cells that hyperpolarized
(Ri, 37.4 ± 2.8%;
n = 29; p < 0.00003; z
test). Direct application of ACh (100 µM) to
interneuronal somata caused rapid hyperpolarizations in some cells
(Fig. 1Bii, left). These
hyperpolarizations were completely inhibited by the muscarinic
antagonist atropine (n = 6) (Fig.
1Bii, right). Hyperpolarizations were
unaffected by TTX (1 µM; n = 2); this
suggests a direct effect of muscarinic agonist on the interneuron cell
body rather than an indirect release of another transmitter.
The other common muscarinic response seen in some interneurons was a
hyperpolarization followed by a slower depolarization (Fig.
1C). Either bath application of a muscarinic agonist (Fig. 1Ci) or direct application of ACh to the cell body (Fig.
1Cii) could elicit a biphasic Vm
response. The biphasic response could be inhibited by atropine (1 µM; n = 4) (Fig. 1Cii) but not
TTX (1 µM) or cadmium (200 µM)
(n = 4). Therefore, the biphasic response was likely
the result of the direct activation of muscarinic receptors on the
interneuron. The hyperpolarization was invariably associated with a
decrease in membrane input resistance, and the input resistance changes
accompanying the depolarization were mixed because they were with
isolated depolarizations. Thus, the hyperpolarization and
depolarization of the biphasic response appears to be identical to the
corresponding individual responses seen in other interneurons, except
for the fact that they were seen together in a single cell.
There was a fourth class of change in Vm after
activation of muscarinic receptors that was seen rarely
(n = 4) and most often in the stratum pyramidale (SP)
[two in SP; one in stratum radiatum (SR); and one in SR/stratum
lacunosum molecular (SLM)]. These interneurons displayed slow
oscillations in Vm (0.02-0.04 Hz) (Fig.
2) and were not inhibited by TTX (1 µM; n = 2). However, because this
response was so infrequent, we did not investigate it further.

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Figure 2.
Oscillations in Vm
evoked by application of muscarine (10 µM)
(bar). The oscillations in Vm
were of sufficient amplitude to evoke action potentials during the
depolarizing phase.
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Ionic mechanism of muscarinic depolarizations
We performed ion substitutions and pharmacological manipulations
in voltage-clamp experiments in an attempt to uncover the ionic
mechanism for muscarinic depolarization. Slow voltage ramps (2-5
mV/sec) were applied to a voltage-clamped interneuron with and without
muscarine (10 µM) (Fig.
3A,B,
top). The current produced by muscarine was determined by
plotting the currents produced during the voltage ramp
(I-V) (Fig. 3) and subtracting control I-V from muscarine I-V (Fig.
3A,B, bottom). Two types
of responses were seen. In the first type, the I-V
relationship had a linear negative slope; zero current occurred near
the equilibrium potential for potassium
(EK, 100.5 mV;
Erev, 103.1 ± 6.1 mV;
n = 8; p > 0.33; z test)
(Fig. 3A, bottom). In the second response, there was a net inward current at all membrane potentials (Fig.
3B, bottom) with no apparent reversal potential
(n = 9). This suggests that, although some muscarinic
depolarizations may be mediated by blockade of a potassium current,
others may involve a different mechanism.

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Figure 3.
I-V relationships reveal multiple
mechanisms for muscarinic membrane depolarizations in interneurons.
I-V relationships were constructed for muscarinic
responses by performing slow voltage ramps in the absence and presence
of muscarinic agonist. Subtraction of the muscarinic
I-V from the control I-V yields the
current produced by muscarine. Subtracted I-Vs are
shown below the raw I-Vs in each panel.
A, I-V curves in the absence and
presence of muscarine (10 µM). The I-V
relationship for the muscarine response is linear with zero current
occurring near the equilibrium potential for potassium
(EK, 100.5 mV). The muscarinic
I-V showed an outward current at
Vm values more negative than
EK and inward currents at
Vm values more positive that
EK. B, I-V
relationship for another interneuron in the absence and presence of
muscarine. This interneuron had a muscarinic I-V with a
net inward current at all Vm values
measured, with no obvious reversal potential for the response. This was
the most common pattern seen among muscarine-depolarized
interneurons.
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We next investigated whether some of the depolarizations involved
sodium influx instead of, or in addition to, potassium channel inhibition. In a voltage-clamped interneuron, pressure-applied ACh
caused an inward current (Fig.
4A, left).
Substitution of extracellular NaCl by choline chloride inhibited the
inward current (Fig. 4A, middle); the
inward current recovered after replacement of the NaCl (Fig.
4A, right). Choline substitution inhibited
inward currents or depolarizations in a total of 10 cells (10.1 ± 3.8% of control; p < 0.0003; z test).
Sodium transport and some sodium channels are sensitive to amiloride.
However, application of amiloride (100 µM) to muscarinic
depolarizing interneurons did not inhibit the inward current of the
depolarization (101 ± 4% of control; n = 6;
p > 0.41; n = 6) (Fig.
4B). Therefore, we concluded that sodium influx plays
a role in perhaps all, but at least a portion, of interneurons
depolarized by muscarinic receptor activation.

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Figure 4.
Muscarinic depolarizations require extracellular
sodium in most interneurons. A, This interneuron was
voltage clamped near its resting potential ( 70 mV). Pressure
injection of ACh (100 µM, 500 msec, 10 psi, in nicotinic
antagonists) (bar) elicits a slow inward current
(left); replacement of extracellular NaCl with choline
chloride inhibits the muscarinic inward current (middle)
that recovers after reperfusion with NaCl (right). The
downward deflections in the records are spontaneous glutamatergic
EPSCs. B, Pressure application of ACh causes a
depolarization of the membrane potential (left) that was
not blocked by bath application of amiloride (100 µM)
(middle) but was inhibited by atropine (1 µM) (right).
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Muscarinic receptor activation hyperpolarize interneurons by
activating an inwardly rectifying potassium channel
We used the same slow voltage-ramp procedure to determine the
I-V relationship underlying the ionic mechanism of
interneuronal muscarinic hyperpolarizations (Fig.
5Ai). The hyperpolarizing current produced by muscarinic receptor activation had an inwardly rectifying I-V curve and reversed near EK
( 103 ± 1.3 mV; n = 3) (Fig.
5Ai). Increasing the extracellular potassium concentration from 2.5 to 10 mM changed the predicted
EK from 100.5 to 65.9 mV. The muscarinic
response I-V relationship continued to be inwardly rectifying and showed zero current near the new EK
(n = 2) (Fig. 5Bii). Because the
slope of the inwardly rectifying potassium channel current is dependent
on the extracellular potassium concentration, we plotted the muscarinic
I-V relationship in low and high extracellular potassium on
the same scale to determine their relative slopes. The slope of the
inward current was greater for higher concentrations of potassium (Fig.
5C), consistent with the activation of an inwardly rectifying potassium channel.

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Figure 5.
Muscarinic receptor activity hyperpolarize some
interneurons via the activation of inwardly rectifying potassium
channels. Ai, In normal extracellular potassium, a slow
voltage ramp showed that the I-V relationship of the
cell changes with bath perfusion of muscarine (10 µM).
Aii, Subtracting control I-V curve from
the muscarinic I-V curve gives the muscarinic current;
this current rectifies inwardly with zero current near the equilibrium
potential for potassium (EK, 100.5
mV). The muscarinic current is inward for potentials more negative than
EK and outward for
Vm values more positive than
EK. Bi, Raising the
extracellular potassium in the cell from 2.5 to 10 mM (in
A) changes the I-V relationships in both
control (saline) and muscarine. Bii, Subtraction of the
control I-V from the muscarinic I-V
indicates that the muscarinic current has changed its reversal
potential to near the new EK
(Erev, 72.1 mV). The muscarinic
current in high potassium was still inwardly rectifying.
C, Graph of the muscarinic I-V responses
at two concentrations of extracellular potassium (2.5 and 10 mM). Increased potassium increases the slope of the
negative current.
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Both cesium and barium inhibit inwardly rectifying potassium channels
to varying degrees. We examined whether cesium (5 mM) or
barium (500 µM) could inhibit the hyperpolarization
produced by muscarinic receptor activation in interneurons. Cesium
produced a small reversible inhibition of the muscarinic
hyperpolarization (63 ± 9% of control; n = 8;
p < 0.0003; z test) (Fig.
6A); however, barium
was much more effective at inhibiting the muscarinic hyperpolarization (33.4 ± 8.6% of control; n = 9;
p < 0.0003; z test) (Fig.
6B). These data are also consistent with the
activation of an inwardly rectifying potassium channel.

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Figure 6.
Muscarinic hyperpolarizations are partially
inhibited by cesium and barium. A, Pressure application
of ACh (100 µM, 500 msec, 10 psi, in nicotinic
antagonists) elicited a fast hyperpolarization (left).
Extracellular cesium (5 mM) partially inhibited the
muscarinic hyperpolarization (middle), which recovered
after removal of cesium (right). B, Same
cell as in A. Hyperpolarization (left) is
significantly inhibited by barium (500 µM) (bath
application) (middle), which recovers after removal of
barium from the bath (right).
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Localization and morphology of interneuron subtypes with differing
muscarinic responses
Examples of interneurons exhibiting the different muscarinic
Vm responses were found in all layers of CA1
(Table 1). The most common response to muscarine observed overall was
depolarization, and, not surprisingly, depolarization was the most
common response in each layer.
In the stratum oriens (SO), approximately one-third of the neurons were
unresponsive to muscarinic agonists, whereas very few were
hyperpolarized (3%) or had biphasic responses (9%). The majority of
cells in SO were depolarized (51%). Similar findings were observed in
the SP; the majority were depolarized (50%), 22% showed no
effect, 11% were hyperpolarized, and 17% were biphasic. The frequency
of hyperpolarizing and biphasic response interneurons increased in the
SR (24% hyperpolarized, 19% biphasic) and SLM (including the border
with SR, SR/SLM; 18% hyperpolarized, 13% biphasic). Together, the
cells in the SR and SR/SLM accounted for 92% of the interneurons,
showing a hyperpolarizing response to muscarine, and 80% of the cells,
showing a biphasic response. However, depolarization was still the most
common response in SR and SR/SLM (43% and 50%, respectively).
Approximately 15% of the cells in these layers were unresponsive to
muscarine (SR, 14%; SR/SLM, 18%).
In the hippocampus, interneurons with particular presumed functions are
generally not confined to particular layers of CA1. The presumed
function of a particular interneuron is most often discerned from its
axonal and dendritic arborization pattern. Thus, we attempted to
determine whether the interneurons that display particular
Vm responses to muscarine fell into specific types based on morphology. To do this, we analyzed the interneurons by
labeling them intracellularly with neurobiotin and reconstructing their
axonal and dendritic arbors by Neurolucida. We found no obvious
relationship between morphology and response to muscarine. Some
depolarizing interneurons had dendrites in all layers (Fig. 7A,B),
whereas others were confined to one particular layer (Fig. 7C). Some depolarizing interneurons had axons innervating
the pyramidal cell body layer (Figs. 7A,
8A), whereas others
innervated the pyramidal cell dendritic layers (SO, SR, SLM) (Figs.
7B, 8C). The axonal and dendritic processes of
hyperpolarizing and biphasic-response interneurons were found
throughout all layers of area CA1 (Fig. 7C,D,
respectively). However, we did find that interneurons with similar
morphologies could and did have different responses to muscarinic
receptor activation. For example, in Figure 8, although the
interneurons in A and B have similar morphologies
(cell bodies near the SO/SP border, dendrites spanning most layers, and
axons confined to the pyramidal cell body layer), one was depolarized by muscarine (Fig. 8A), whereas the other one was
unaffected (Fig. 8B). Similarly, in Figure 8, the
neurons in C and D were morphologically similar;
however, the neuron in C was depolarized, whereas the neuron
in D showed no change in Vm. For
interneurons innervating both the apical and basal dendrites of
pyramidal cells (bistratified cells), six of eight depolarized, one was
biphasic, and another did not respond.

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Figure 7.
Morphology of interneurons with different membrane
potential responses to muscarinic agonists. A,
B, Interneurons with depolarizing responses to
muscarinic receptor activation. A, An interneuron whose
axons projected into the pyramidal cell body. B, An
interneuron whose axon avoided the pyramidal cell layer.
C, Morphology of an interneuron that showed a biphasic
response. These interneurons and those hyperpolarized by muscarinic
receptor activation showed varying morphologies with axons projecting
to all layers of CA1.
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Figure 8.
Interneurons with similar morphologies have
different responses to muscarine. A, B,
Interneurons with similar morphologies, cell bodies near the border of
SP/SO, dendrites in all layers of CA1, and axons projecting to the
pyramidal cell body layer. The interneuron in A was
depolarized by muscarine, whereas the interneuron in B
was not affected by muscarine. C, D,
Interneurons with similar morphology, both having horizontal cell
bodies in SO, dendrites confined to SO, and axons terminating
predominantly on the proximal dendrites of CA1 pyramidal cells. The
interneuron in C responded to muscarinic receptor
activity with a depolarization, whereas the neuron in D
showed no change in membrane potential.
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There was also no correlation between response to muscarine and axonal
projection and termination; of six neurons whose axons we classified as
perisomatic, three were depolarized, one oscillated, and the other two
showed no response. Of cells that projected to SLM from SO, two of four
cells had small depolarizations, whereas the other two did not respond.
Of 11 cells that ramified mainly in SR, eight depolarized, one did not
respond, one hyperpolarized, and one was biphasic. We studied five
cells with axons that ramified in SR and SLM: three of the five
depolarized, one hyperpolarized, and one showed no effect.
Interestingly, of six cells with axons that innervated all layers, only
one depolarized, two hyperpolarized, one was biphasic, and two did not
respond. These data allowed us to conclude only that interneurons that
had hyperpolarizing or biphasic responses appeared to have wide ranging
axonal patterns of innervation, much of it in SR but spanning more than
one layer. Cells that depolarized in response to muscarinic receptor
activation fell into no distinct morphological type.
 |
DISCUSSION |
In this study, we have demonstrated that muscarinic receptor
activation has a variety of effects on area CA1 interneurons. In all,
five possible outcomes were observed. Interneurons could respond to a
muscarinic agonist by depolarization, hyperpolarization, hyperpolarization followed by a slower depolarization (biphasic), an
oscillation, or show no response. We could not definitively correlate
type of response with the layer in which the cell body was found or
with any characteristics of axonal or dendritic morphology. Our data
suggest that the function of an interneuron cannot, at least with
regard to its muscarinic function, be deduced from its anatomical
structure alone. Interneurons with apparently similar morphology may
serve to modulate the hippocampal circuitry differently when under
muscarinic influence.
Interneurons depolarized by muscarinic receptor activation
Depolarization was the most frequent response to muscarinic
receptor activation. This confirms direct and indirect measurements, which demonstrated that some interneurons are depolarized by muscarinic receptor activation (Benardo and Prince, 1982 ; Reece and Schwartzkroin, 1991 ; Pitler and Alger, 1992 ; Behrends and ten Bruggencate, 1993 ; Parra
et al., 1998 ). These cells were found in all layers of CA1 and did not
appear to fall into a particular anatomical class of interneuron, in
agreement with a recent study (Parra et al., 1998 ). Depolarization was
a complex response, likely involving more than one mechanism.
Generally, depolarization was not accompanied by a concomitant change
in the Ri. Furthermore, voltage-ramp experiments showed two types of I-V relationships for
muscarinic-induced depolarization. In some cells, muscarinic receptor
activation produced a linear I-V relationship in a negative
voltage range, with a negative slope that reversed at the
EK; this is consistent with the
inhibition of a voltage-independent leakage potassium current as seen
in pyramidal neurons (Madison et al., 1987 ). However, the limited voltage range over which we were able to examine this current does not
allow us to rule out voltage-dependent potassium currents, including
calcium-activated currents promoted by calcium release from
intracellular stores. Most depolarizing interneurons showed a net
inward current at all Vm values with no reversal
potential, similar to muscarinic depolarization in rat locus
ceruleus neurons (LC) and guinea pig hippocampal pyramidal
neurons (Benson et al., 1988 ; Shen and North, 1992 ). In both these
preparations, there was no change in the input resistance of the cell,
and the muscarinic I-V relationship produced a net
inward current with no reversal potential. These authors suggested that
muscarinic depolarizations were caused by the simultaneous inhibition
of resting potassium channels and the activation of a
voltage-independent nonselective cation current. The contributions of
both channel types canceled out the effects of each other on the
Ri of the cell, thereby producing a
depolarization without reversal or any net change in
Ri. Furthermore, the muscarinic inward current
was suppressed by low extracellular sodium as was described for LC
neurons (Shen and North, 1992 ).
Another factor that could contribute to this inward current is a brain
ENaC (epithelial sodium channel) (Garty and Palmer, 1997 ). These
channels are usually found in epithelial cells and are sensitive to low
concentrations of amiloride. However, amiloride did not appear to
inhibit the muscarinic depolarization at sufficient concentrations to
block these channels (Garty and Palmer, 1997 ). Muscarine could also
exert its effect by activating an electrogenic transporter. The
concentrations of muscarine agonist used in our experiments were too
low to block the brain sodium-calcium exchanger (Schellenberg et al.,
1983 ), so the activation of a muscarinic-sensitive electrogenic pump
cannot be ruled out. We believe it is most likely that muscarinic
depolarization is a result of the simultaneous inhibition of a
potassium channel and the activation of a cation current. In agreement
with this hypothesis, some interneurons appear to use potassium channel
inhibition as the primary mechanism for depolarization, similarly to LC
and pyramidal neurons (Benson et al., 1988 ; Shen and North, 1992 ).
Hyperpolarizing interneurons
Like depolarizing interneurons, hyperpolarizing interneurons were
found in all layers of CA1 and did not comprise a morphologically distinct population, consistent with the findings of a recent study
(Parra et al., 1998 ). The frequency of encountering hyperpolarizing interneurons was greater in SR and SLM. The one common morphological characteristic of these neurons that we could discern was their widely
dispersed axons, which ramified throughout multiple layers of CA1.
Muscarinic hyperpolarization was accompanied by a consistent decrease
in Ri. The properties of the muscarinic
hyperpolarizing current were similar to those of an inwardly rectifying
potassium channel (Nichols and Lopatin, 1997 ). The I-V
relationship of the muscarinic response was that of a current that
reversed near the EK and passed more inward
than outward current. Changing the extracellular potassium
concentration altered the reversal potential, and the slope of the
inward current curve increased with increasing extracellular potassium.
Hyperpolarization was sensitive to extracellular barium and less
sensitive to extracellular cesium, which is also consistent with the
activation of an inward rectifier. Thus, muscarinic receptor stimulation activates an inwardly rectifying potassium channel in an as
yet unidentified subpopulation of interneurons.
Interneurons with biphasic responses
Interneurons with biphasic responses have not been described
previously. Like the hyperpolarizing interneurons, interneurons with
biphasic responses were found in all layers of CA1 but most often in SR
and SLM. Although the biphasic cells did not have a distinct morphology
and did not appear to constitute a functionally distinct subgroup, the
axons of these neurons often branched extensively through several
layers. The hyperpolarizing phase of the biphasic muscarinic response
was similar to that shown by neurons that responded only with
hyperpolarization as to was accompanied by an increase in potassium
conductance. The depolarizing phase of the biphasic response was also
similar to that seen in interneurons showing only the depolarizing
response. The conductance change underlying the depolarizing phase of
the biphasic response could be an increase or a decrease in input
resistance, or there could be no apparent net change. Thus, the
response in these interneurons appears to vary only in that both
responses are seen in the same interneuron.
Interneurons with muscarinic slow oscillations
A subpopulation of interneurons produced slow membrane
oscillations when exposed to muscarinic agonists. This type of response has not been described previously. Oscillations were observed in only
four cells; half of these were found in the SP. These large-amplitude
oscillations were slow, 0.02-0.06 Hz, and fell outside the frequency
range of known behaviorally relevant circuit oscillation frequency
(Freund and Buzsáki, 1996 ). However, this could be attributable
to the low temperatures at which the experiments were performed and the
slow method by which the agonists were applied. Further experiments are
required to determine whether muscarinic receptor activity can cause
particular interneurons to oscillate at higher frequencies, as has been
reported for metabotropic glutamate receptors (Whittington et al.,
1995 ).
A significant number of interneurons did not respond to muscarinic
receptor activation. Nonresponding interneurons were found in all
layers, most frequently in SO. Morphologically, there was no way to
identify a nonresponding cell, and the morphology of some nonresponding
cells was apparently similar to that of responding cells.
Physiological relevance of muscarinic membrane responses
Our observations that hippocampal interneurons respond in a
variety of ways to muscarinic receptor activation reinforces the idea
of the complexity of interneuronal function compared with that of the
uniform principal cells (Freund and Buzsáki, 1996 ). Previously,
interneurons have been classified into distinct anatomical and
functional classes (Freund and Buzsáki, 1996 ). They have been
shown to terminate on different parts of the pyramidal neuron, soma, or
dendrites (Gulyás et al., 1993a ,b ; Han et al., 1993 ; Buhl et al.,
1994 ; McBain et al., 1994 ; Sik et al., 1995 ) to inhibit specific
electrical activity in pyramidal cells (Miles et al., 1996 ) and to
release different peptide cotransmitters along with GABA (Freund and
Buzsáki, 1996 ). Furthermore, there are interneurons that
selectively innervate other interneurons (Acsady et al., 1996 ;
Gulyás et al., 1996 ; Hájos et al., 1996 ;
Blasco-Ibanez et al., 1998 ). A recent study has shown that different
interneurons contain different combinations of multiple
neuromodulators, and these combinations may be functionally significant
(Parra et al., 1998 ). Our data confirm and extend these findings for
muscarinic modulation of interneurons. Our observation that
interneurons with similar morphologies can have different responses to
muscarine suggests that interneurons with similar inputs and outputs
may not be all of one functional class. Instead, they may serve
different functions in the hippocampal circuit for reasons and by
mechanisms that are not apparent from their morphology alone. One
caveat to this may be the age of the animals used in this study. To
facilitate the acquisition of whole-cell recordings, the animals in
which physiology and anatomy were compared were between 18 and 25 d of age. Further differentiation of interneurons after that age could,
in theory, provide some anatomical features that do correlate with
muscarinic responsiveness. The finding that interneurons with different
morphologies can have the same response to muscarine suggests that
distribution of muscarinic responsiveness may be an important feature
of the inhibitory circuitry. These results together certainly suggest a
complexity to the classification of interneuronal function that
heretofore may not have been fully realized.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
Received Nov. 30, 1998; revised April 21, 1999; accepted April 28, 1999.
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants
MH48874 and MH56454 to D.V.M. We thank Eric Schaible and Paul Pavlidis
for writing the acquisition and analysis software and David Prince and
John Huguenard for allowing us use of their Neurolucida for neuronal reconstructions.
Correspondence should be addressed to Daniel V. Madison, Beckman
Center, Room 111b, Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5345.
 |
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