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Published on: January 10, 2015
Striatal fast-spiking interneurons: from firing patterns to postsynaptic impact.
Andreas Klaus1, Henrike Planert, J J Johannes Hjorth
1Nobel Institute for Neurophysiology, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute Stockholm, Sweden.
Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience
|August 3, 2011
Summary
Fast-spiking (FS) interneurons in the striatum exhibit variable firing. This variability, crucial for brain function, is primarily driven by input fluctuations rather than intrinsic stuttering behavior.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Computational Neuroscience
- Cellular Electrophysiology
Background:
- Fast-spiking (FS) interneurons are key inhibitory regulators of medium spiny (MS) projection neurons in the striatal microcircuit.
- In vivo recordings show high firing variability in striatal FS interneurons, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the discharge properties and synaptic efficacies of striatal FS interneurons.
- To determine whether FS cell firing variability arises from input fluctuations or intrinsic stuttering discharge.
Main Methods:
- Combined computational modeling with in vitro and in vivo electrophysiological measurements.
- Analyzed FS cell responses to steady depolarization and fluctuating inputs.
- Investigated spike synchronization in electrically coupled FS cells.
Main Results:
- FS neurons exhibiting stuttering discharge under steady depolarization do not stutter with fluctuating input.
- Electrically coupled FS cells synchronize spikes only in the stuttering regime, which is not observed in vivo.
- FS firing variability translates to postsynaptic amplitude variability in MS neurons due to strong synaptic depression.
Conclusions:
- In vivo FS firing variability is likely driven by input fluctuations, not simultaneous stuttering of neighboring FS neurons.
- The FS-to-MS synapse exhibits strong depression, suggesting cooperative and precisely orchestrated activity of multiple FS interneurons is important for inhibition.
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