Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2025

Slice Patch Clamp Technique for Analyzing Learning-Induced Plasticity
Published on: November 11, 2017
The short-term plasticity of VIP interneurons in motor cortex
Amanda R McFarlan1,2, Isabella Gomez1, Christina Y C Chou1,2
1Centre for Research in Neuroscience, Brain Repair, and Integrative Neuroscience Program, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Short-term plasticity differs at vasoactive-intestinal peptide (VIP) interneuron (IN) outputs and inputs. VIP IN outputs show consistent short-term depression, while inputs exhibit diverse dynamics, impacting neural signal coding.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Computational Neuroscience
- Synaptic Plasticity
Background:
- Short-term plasticity shapes neural dynamics and information processing in the brain.
- Vasoactive-intestinal peptide (VIP) interneurons (INs) are crucial for cortical disinhibition, yet their synaptic plasticity is poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize short-term plasticity at both the inputs and outputs of VIP INs in the mouse motor cortex.
- To investigate inhibitory-inhibitory (I→I) plasticity at VIP IN outputs and excitatory-inhibitory (E→I) plasticity at VIP IN inputs.
Main Methods:
- Whole-cell recording, 2-photon microscopy, and optogenetics were used to study VIP IN outputs.
- Extracellular stimulation and computational modeling were employed to analyze VIP IN inputs.
- Genetically targeted VIP INs in layer 2/3 (L2/3) and layer 5 (L5) of the mouse motor cortex were utilized.
Main Results:
- VIP IN outputs to Martinotti cells (MCs) and basket cells (BCs) consistently displayed short-term depression.
- Excitatory inputs to VIP INs showed heterogeneous short-term dynamics, linked to individual VIP IN cells and variable release probability.
- Computational modeling supported the link between release probability variability and diverse synaptic dynamics.
Conclusions:
- Short-term plasticity is synapse-type specific at VIP INs, with distinct dynamics at their outputs versus inputs.
- The heterogeneity in short-term plasticity at VIP IN inputs may enable coding for diverse signal dynamics in cortical circuits.
More Related Videos
05:01Inducing Long-Term Plasticity of Intrinsic Neuronal Excitability in Neurons of the Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus
Published on: September 20, 2024
11:31Ex Vivo Optogenetic Interrogation of Long-Range Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity from Medial Prefrontal Cortex to Lateral Entorhinal Cortex
Published on: February 25, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Long-term Potentiation
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when...
Neuroplasticity