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Activity-dependent modulation of inhibitory synaptic kinetics in the cochlear nucleus
Jana Nerlich1, Christian Keine1, Rudolf Rübsamen1
1Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Biosciences, Pharmacy and Psychology, University of Leipzig Leipzig, Germany.
Frontiers in Neural Circuits
|January 8, 2015
Summary
Inhibition in the auditory system is slower than previously thought, influenced by neurotransmitter release and clearance. This impacts how spherical bushy cells process sound, crucial for hearing.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Auditory System Physiology
Background:
- Spherical bushy cells (SBCs) in the cochlear nucleus precisely encode sound phase for localization and speech.
- Acoustically evoked inhibition enhances SBC spiking precision but its kinetics are complex.
- Inhibition shifts from glycinergic to GABA/glycine and gains a tonic character with activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively understand the mechanisms of slow inhibitory input onto SBCs.
- To investigate the activity-dependent modulation of inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs).
Main Methods:
- Whole-cell voltage clamp recordings from SBCs in juvenile Mongolian gerbils.
- Recording evoked inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) at physiological stimulation rates.
Main Results:
- IPSC decay kinetics are activity-dependent, slowing with increased input rates.
- Lowering release probability accelerated IPSC decay, indicating transmitter quantity's role.
- Slow transmitter clearance and GABAergic asynchronous release contribute to prolonged inhibition.
Conclusions:
- Synaptic factors like receptor kinetics, transmitter clearance, and asynchronous release shape inhibitory input.
- The slow time course of inhibition is modulated by stimulus duration and frequency.
- These mechanisms ensure precise auditory processing in the cochlear nucleus.
Keywords:
activity-dependent decayasynchronous releasecochlear nucleusinhibitionintersynaptic poolingre-uptakespherical bushy cellMore Related Videos
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