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The Journal of Neuroscience, July 15, 1999, 19(14):5721-5730

Three GABA Receptor-Mediated Postsynaptic Potentials in Interneurons in the Rat Lateral Geniculate Nucleus

J. Julius Zhu^{1, 2} and Fu-Sun Lo¹

¹ Shanghai Brain Research Institute and Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China, and ² Abteilung Zellphysiologie, Max-Planck-Institut für medizinische Forschung, Heidelberg D-69120, Germany

Inhibition is crucial for the thalamus to relay sensory information from the periphery to the cortex and to participate in thalamocortical oscillations. However, the properties of inhibitory synaptic events in interneurons are poorly defined because in part of the technical difficulty of obtaining stable recording from these small cells. With the whole-cell recording technique, we obtained stable recordings from local interneurons in the lateral geniculate nucleus and studied their inhibitory synaptic properties. We found that interneurons expressed three different types of GABA receptors: bicuculline-sensitive GABA_A receptors, bicuculline-insensitive GABA_A receptors, and GABA_B receptors. The reversal potentials of GABA responses were estimated by polarizing the membrane potential. The GABA_A receptor-mediated responses had a reversal potential of approximately 82 mV, consistent with mediation via Cl channels. The reversal potential for the GABA_B response was 97 mV, consistent with it being a K⁺ conductance. The roles of these GABA receptors in postsynaptic responses were also examined in interneurons. Optic tract stimulation evoked a disynaptic IPSP that was mediated by all three types of GABA receptors and depended on activation of geniculate interneurons. Stimulation of the thalamic reticular nucleus evoked an IPSP, which appeared to be mediated exclusively by bicuculline-sensitive GABA_A receptors and depended on the activation of reticular cells. The results indicate that geniculate interneurons form a complex neuronal circuitry with thalamocortical and reticular cells via feed-forward and feedback circuits, suggesting that they play a more important role in thalamic function than thought previously.

Key words: dendrite; cortex; visual cortex; thalamus; thalamic reticular nucleus; lateral posterior nucleus; superior colliculus; inhibitory circuits; oscillation; epilepsy; GABA_C receptor; retina

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Copyright © 1999 Society for Neuroscience  0270-6474/99/19145721-10$05.00/0

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