Intrinsic properties of and thalamocortical inputs onto identified corticothalamic-VPM neurons

Corticothalamic (CT) feedback plays an important role in regulating the sensory information that the cortex receives. Within the somatosensory cortex layer VI originates the feedback to the ventral posterior medial (VPM) nucleus of the thalamus, which in turn receives sensory information from the contralateral whiskers. We examined the physiology and morphology of CT neurons in rat somatosensory cortex, focusing on the physiological characteristics of the monosynaptic inputs that they receive from the thalamus. To identify CT neurons, rhodamine microspheres were injected into VPM and allowed to retrogradely transport to the soma of CT neurons. Thalamocortical slices were prepared at least 3 days post injection. Whole-cell recordings from labeled CT cells in layer VI demonstrated that they are regular spiking neurons and exhibit little spike frequency adaption. Two anatomical classes were identified based on their apical dendrites that either terminated by layer V (compact cells) or layer IV (elaborate cells). Thalamic inputs onto identified CT-VPM neurons demonstrated paired pulse depression over a wide frequency range (2-20 Hz). Stimulus trains also resulted in significant synaptic depression above 10 Hz. Our results suggest that thalamic inputs differentially impact CT-VPM neurons in layer VI. This characteristic may allow them to differentiate a wide range of stimulation frequencies which in turn further tune the feedback signals to the thalamus.