Spatial Embryonic Origin Delineates GABAergic Hub Neurons Driving Network Dynamics in the Developing Entorhinal...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Computational Neuroscience

Background:

• Coordinated neuronal activity is vital for cortical circuit development.
• GABAergic hub neurons orchestrate early network activity, but their presence beyond the hippocampus is unknown.
• The entorhinal cortex is crucial for neocortical coordinated activity and entorhinal-hippocampal network maturation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the presence and characteristics of driver hub neurons in the entorhinal cortex.
• To determine if entorhinal cortex GABAergic neurons play a similar role in network development as observed in the hippocampus.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an unbiased approach to identify "driver hub neurons" based on functional links in living slices.
• Analyzed GABAergic cell populations in the entorhinal cortex.

Main Results:

• Nearly half of GABAergic cells significantly influence network dynamics.
• A specific subpopulation of somatostatin-expressing neurons, originating from the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) and located in infragranular layers, spontaneously function as driver hubs.
• Identified driver hub neurons in the entorhinal cortex.

Conclusions:

• The entorhinal cortex possesses driver hub neurons, similar to the hippocampus.
• Despite variations in interneuron diversity origins, shared developmental mechanisms establish functional circuits in both the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex.