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Updated: Dec 23, 2025
Electrophysiological and Morphological Characterization of Neuronal Microcircuits in Acute Brain Slices Using Paired Patch-Clamp Recordings
Published on: January 10, 2015
Voltage-Gated Intrinsic Conductances Shape the Input-Output Relationship of Cortical Neurons in Behaving Primate V1
Baowang Li1, Brandy N Routh2, Daniel Johnston2
1Center for Perceptual Systems, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Center for Learning and Memory, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Abstract:
Neurons are input-output (I/O) devices-they receive synaptic inputs from other neurons, integrate those inputs with their intrinsic properties, and generate action potentials as outputs. To understand this fundamental process, we studied the interaction between synaptic inputs and intrinsic properties using whole-cell recordings from V1 neurons of awake, fixating macaque monkeys. Our measurements during spontaneous activity and visual stimulation reveal an intrinsic voltage-gated conductance that profoundly alters the integrative properties and visual responses of cortical neurons. This voltage-gated conductance increases neuronal gain and selectivity with subthreshold depolarization and linearizes the relationship between synaptic input and neural output. This intrinsic conductance is found in layer 2/3 V1 neurons of awake macaques, anesthetized mice, and acute brain slices. These results demonstrate that intrinsic conductances play an essential role in shaping the I/O relationship of cortical neurons and must be taken into account in future models of cortical computations.
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