An intracellular study of dendrodendritic inhibitory synapses on mitral cells in the rabbit olfactory bulb

1. In the rabbit olfactory bulb, intracellular potentials were recorded from mitral cells and from neurones in the granule cell layer (g.c.l.) following lateral olfactory tract (l.o.t.) stimulation. 2. Most recordings from mitral cells showed large (5-21 mV) and prolonged (60-650 msec) i.p.s.p.s subseuqent to the antidromic spikes. These i.p.s.p.s decreased in amplitude and then reversed in polarity by progressive increase in hyperpolarizing current applied intracellularly. They were accompanied by a prominent and long lasting (up to 100 msec) conductance increase of the mitral cell membrane. 3. Reversed i.p.s.p.s of mitral cells having quite different time courses from the original hyperpolarizing i.p.s.p.s suggest that the inhibitory synapses are widely distributed on the soma and dendrites. 4. E.p.s.p.s could be recorded from g.c.l. cells whose onset latency was approximately 0.6 msec shorter than that of mitral cell i.p.s.p.s. Comparison of the behaviour of e.p.s.p.s in g.c.l. cells and that of mitral cell i.p.s.p. under various conditions of l.o.t. stimulation suggests that these g.c.l. cells are the inhibitory interneurones mediating mitral cell inhibition. 5. The results support the hypothesis of dendrodentritic pathways for activation of granule cells and subsequent inhibition of mitral cells.