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Updated: Jun 12, 2025
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Whole-cell Patch-clamp Recordings from Morphologically- and Neurochemically-identified Hippocampal Interneurons
Published on: September 30, 2014
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Molecular programs specifying properties and plasticity of parvalbumin interneuron innervation
Zeynep Okur1, Peter Scheiffele1
1Biozentrum, University of Basel, Spitalstrasse 41, CH-4056, Basel, Switzerland.
Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|June 10, 2025
Summary
Parvalbumin-positive (PV) interneurons are key for brain circuit timing and inhibition. Research reveals how their synapses form and adapt, offering insights into neuronal plasticity and function.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cellular Neuroscience
- Systems Neuroscience
Background:
- Parvalbumin-positive (PV) interneurons, a type of fast-spiking GABAergic interneuron, are crucial for regulating neuronal circuit function.
- They control signal timing and circuit gain through precise inhibitory outputs, essential for processes like feedforward and feedback inhibition in cortical circuits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review molecular mechanisms governing glutamatergic synapse formation onto PV interneurons.
- To discuss transcriptional programs that regulate PV interneuron function and plasticity.
Main Methods:
- This review integrates findings from molecular biology, neuroscience, and systems neuroscience research.
- Focuses on studies investigating synaptic protein complexes and gene expression in PV interneurons.
Main Results:
- Distinct synaptic protein complexes play critical roles in specifying glutamatergic synapse formation onto PV interneurons.
- Transcriptional programs dynamically modulate PV interneuron connectivity and function in response to experience and learning.
Conclusions:
- Understanding synapse formation and plasticity in PV interneurons provides insights into neuronal circuit operation.
- PV interneurons serve as a vital model for uncovering fundamental mechanisms of synaptic development and neuronal plasticity.
