Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 2, 2026

Dual Electrophysiological Recordings of Synaptically-evoked Astroglial and Neuronal Responses in Acute Hippocampal Slices
Published on: November 26, 2012
Regulation of Recurrent Inhibition by Asynchronous Glutamate Release in Neocortex
Suixin Deng1, Junlong Li1, Quansheng He1
1State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekou Wai Street, Beijing 100875, China.
Abstract:
The timing and size of inhibition are crucial for dynamic excitation-inhibition balance and information processing in the neocortex. The underlying mechanism for temporal control of inhibition remains unclear. We performed dual whole-cell recordings from pyramidal cells (PCs) and nearby inhibitory interneurons in layer 5 of rodent neocortical slices. We found asynchronous release (AR) of glutamate occurs at PC output synapses onto Martinotti cells (MCs), causing desynchronized and prolonged firing in MCs and thus imprecise and long-lasting inhibition in neighboring PCs. AR is much stronger at PC-MC synapses as compared with those onto fast-spiking cells and other PCs, and it is also dependent on PC subtypes, with crossed-corticostriatal PCs producing the strongest AR. Moreover, knocking out synaptotagmin-7 substantially reduces AR strength and recurrent inhibition. Our results highlight the effect of glutamate AR on the operation of microcircuits mediating slow recurrent inhibition, an important mechanism for controlling the timing and size of cortical inhibition.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism
The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential....
Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters
Integration of Synaptic Events

