Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 26, 2025
07:32
Whole-cell Currents Induced by Puff Application of GABA in Brain Slices
Published on: October 12, 2017
9.6K
Prefrontal GABAergic Interneurons Gate Long-Range Afferents to Regulate Prefrontal Cortex-Associated Complex
Sha-Sha Yang1,2, Nancy R Mack1, Yousheng Shu2
1Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, College of Medicine, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Frontiers in Neural Circuits
|July 29, 2021
Summary
Prefrontal cortical GABAergic interneurons (INs) integrate signals from the mediodorsal thalamus, ventral hippocampus, and basolateral amygdala. This integration precisely controls complex behaviors like working memory and fear expression.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Neuroscience
Background:
- Prefrontal cortical GABAergic interneurons (INs) are critical for complex behaviors.
- Long-range afferents from subcortical structures (mediodorsal thalamus, ventral hippocampus, basolateral amygdala) modulate these INs.
- Parvalbumin-expressing (PV) and somatostatin-expressing (SST) INs are key mediators of these modulatory effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review how long-range afferents from the mediodorsal thalamus (MD), ventral hippocampus (vHPC), and basolateral amygdala (BLA) recruit specific prefrontal interneuron populations.
- To elucidate the precise control of prefrontal cortex (PFC)-dependent behaviors by these afferent-innervating INs.
- To provide a comprehensive overview of how converging inputs on PFC INs regulate complex behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Anatomical summarization of long-range input connections onto PFC GABAergic INs, differentiating between PV and SST cells.
- Elaboration on the roles of PFC PV- and SST- INs in mediating MD afferent-driven cognitive behaviors.
- Examination of how PFC PV- and SST- INs regulate vHPC afferents in spatial working memory and fear expression.
- Discussion of the potential role of PFC PV-INs in BLA-mPFC pathway-driven fear conditioning.
Main Results:
- Different long-range afferents selectively target distinct PFC IN subtypes (PV vs. SST).
- PV and SST INs differentially mediate cognitive behaviors influenced by MD afferents.
- PFC INs play a crucial role in gating vHPC afferents for spatial working memory and fear.
- The BLA-mPFC pathway, potentially via PV-INs, is implicated in fear conditioning.
Conclusions:
- Converging long-range inputs on PFC INs provide precise control over complex behaviors.
- Understanding the specific roles of PV and SST INs in processing different afferent inputs is key to deciphering PFC function.
- Future research should explore novel directions to fully understand how the PFC orchestrates diverse behaviors through these circuits.
Keywords:
basolateral amygdalacomplex behaviorinterneuronsmediodorsal thalamusprefrontal cortexventral hippocampusMore Related Videos
07:51Inhibitory Synapse Formation in a Co-culture Model Incorporating GABAergic Medium Spiny Neurons and HEK293 Cells Stably Expressing GABAA Receptors
Published on: November 14, 2014
17.6K
07:29Real-time Analysis of Gut-brain Neural Communication: Cortex wide Calcium Dynamics in Response to Intestinal Glucose Stimulation
Published on: December 29, 2023
815
Related Concept Videos
01:30Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism
3.1K
Ligand-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins that play a vital role in intercellular communication and functions of the nervous system. They allow the influx of ions across the membrane once the neurotransmitter binds, allowing the subsequent transmission of electrical excitation across the neurons. Other ligand-gated ion channels, like the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor, permit anions like chloride into the cells on the binding of the GABA molecule. Their entry into the cell...
3.1K
01:21G-Protein Gated Ion Channels
5.0K
GPCRs are primarily responsible for our sense of smell, taste, and vision. The binding of a sensory stimulus activates GPCR to stimulate effector proteins, many of which are ion channels in the sensory organs. GPCRs modulate the opening and closing of the target ion channels either directly by binding them, or by releasing second messengers that activate these channels. As ions move across the membrane, the membrane potential is altered, which induces an appropriate response.
Sensory...
Sensory...
5.0K
01:14Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory
681
The cerebellum, while traditionally associated with motor control, also plays a crucial role in memory, particularly in procedural memory, which involves learning motor tasks that become automatic through repetition. For example, studies have shown that when the cerebellum is damaged, individuals or animals lose the ability to learn conditioned motor responses, such as the conditioned eye-blink response in classical conditioning experiments with rabbits. This study demonstrates the...
681
01:09GPCRs Regulate Adenylyl Cylase Activity
6.2K
Some GPCRs transmit signals through adenylyl cyclase (AC), a transmembrane enzyme. AC helps synthesize second messenger cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). AC catalyzes cyclization reaction and converts ATP to cAMP by releasing a pyrophosphate. The pyrophosphate is further hydrolyzed to phosphate by the enzyme pyrophosphatase, which drives cAMP synthesis to completion. However, cAMP is rapidly degraded to 5′ AMP by the enzymes phosphodiesterase (PDE), preventing overstimulation of...
6.2K
01:18Antiepileptic Drugs: GABAergic Pathway Potentiators
828
γ-aminobutyric acid or GABA, plays a pivotal role as an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. GABA pathway potentiators, also known as GABAergic drugs, are a class of pharmaceutical agents designed to enhance the functioning of the GABAergic system. These medications primarily treat epilepsy, a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures.
The key GABA pathway potentiators used in epilepsy management are as follows.
Benzodiazepines are a well-known class of drugs used for...
The key GABA pathway potentiators used in epilepsy management are as follows.
Benzodiazepines are a well-known class of drugs used for...
828
01:19The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation
3.4K
A postsynaptic neuron usually receives numerous impulses from several other presynaptic neurons. The axon hillock of the postsynaptic neuron integrates all these signals and determines the likelihood of firing an action potential.
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....
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....
3.4K