Ionic mechanisms underlying burst firing of layer III sensorimotor cortical neurons of the cat: an in vitro slice study

Ion Homeostasis in Rhythmogenesis: The Interplay Between Neurons and Astroglia

Proper function of all excitable cells depends on ion homeostasis. Nowhere is this more critical than in the brain where the extracellular concentration of some ions determines neurons' firing pattern and ability to encode information. Several neuronal functions depend on the ability of neurons to change their firing pattern to a rhythmic bursting pattern, whereas, in some circuits, rhythmic firing is, on the contrary, associated to pathologies like epilepsy or Parkinson's disease. In this review, we focus on the four main ions known to fluctuate during rhythmic firing: calcium, potassium, sodium, and chloride. We discuss the synergistic interactions between these elements to promote an oscillatory activity. We also review evidence supporting an important role for astrocytes in the homeostasis of each of these ions and describe mechanisms by which astrocytes may regulate neuronal firing by altering their extracellular concentrations. A particular emphasis is put on the mechanisms underlying rhythmogenesis in the circuit forming the central pattern generator (CPG) for mastication and other CPG systems. Finally, we discuss how an impairment in the ability of glial cells to maintain such homeostasis may result in pathologies like epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.

Differential Activation of Fast-Spiking and Regular-Firing Neuron Populations During Movement and Reward in the Dorsal Medial Frontal Cortex

The medial prefrontal cortex is thought to be important for guiding behavior according to an animal's expectations. Efforts to decode the region have focused not only on the question of what information it computes, but also how distinct circuit components become engaged during behavior. We find that the activity of regular-firing, putative projection neurons contains rich information about behavioral context and firing fields cluster around reward sites, while activity among putative inhibitory and fast-spiking neurons is most associated with movement and accompanying sensory stimulation. These dissociations were observed even between adjacent neurons with apparently reciprocal, inhibitory-excitatory connections. A smaller population of projection neurons with burst-firing patterns did not show clustered firing fields around rewards; these neurons, although heterogeneous, were generally less selective for behavioral context than regular-firing cells. The data suggest a network that tracks an animal's behavioral situation while, at the same time, regulating excitation levels to emphasize high valued positions. In this scenario, the function of fast-spiking inhibitory neurons is to constrain network output relative to incoming sensory flow. This scheme could serve as a bridge between abstract sensorimotor information and single-dimensional codes for value, providing a neural framework to generate expectations from behavioral state.

Effects of aging on properties of the local circuit in rat primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in vitro

During aging receptive field properties degrade, the ability of the circuit to process temporal information is impaired and behaviors mediated by the circuit can become impaired. These changes are mediated by changes in the properties of neural circuits, particularly the balance of excitation and inhibition, the intrinsic properties of neurons, and the anatomy of connections in the circuit. In this study, properties of thalamorecipient pyramidal neurons in layer 3 were examined in the hindpaw region of rat primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in vitro. Excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) resulting from trains of electrical stimulation of thalamocortical afferents were recorded. Excitatory postsynaptic currents were larger in old S1, but showed no difference in temporal dynamics; IPSCs showed significantly less suppression across the train in old S1, partly due to a decrease in GABAB signaling. Neurons in old S1 were more likely to exhibit burst firing, due to an increase in T-current. Significant differences in dendritic morphology were also observed in old S1, accompanied by a decrease in dendritic spine density. These data directly demonstrate changes in the properties of the thalamorecipient circuit in old S1 and help to explain the changes observed in responses during aging.

Electrophysiological abnormalities in both axotomized and nonaxotomized pyramidal neurons following mild traumatic brain injury

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) often produces lasting detrimental effects on cognitive processes. The mechanisms underlying neurological abnormalities have not been fully identified, in part due to the diffuse pathology underlying mTBI. Here we employ a mouse model of mTBI that allows for identification of both axotomized and intact neurons in the living cortical slice via neuronal expression of yellow fluorescent protein. Both axotomized and intact neurons recorded within injured cortex are healthy with a normal resting membrane potential, time constant (τ), and input resistance (R(in)). In control cortex, 25% of cells show an intrinsically bursting action potential (AP) firing pattern, and the rest respond to injected depolarizing current with a regular-spiking pattern. At 2 d postinjury, intrinsic bursting activity is lost within the intact population. The AP amplitude is increased and afterhyperpolarization duration decreased in axotomized neurons at 1 and 2 d postinjury. In contrast, intact neurons also show these changes at 1 d, but recover by 2 d postinjury. Two measures suggest an initial decrease in excitability in axotomized neurons followed by an increase in excitability within intact neurons. The rheobase is significantly increased in axotomized neurons at 1 d postinjury. The slope of the plot of AP frequency versus injected current is larger for intact neurons at 2 d postinjury. Together, these results demonstrate that intact and axotomized neurons are both affected by mTBI, resulting in different changes in neuronal excitability that may contribute to network dysfunction following TBI.

Maternal diabetes increases large conductance Ca2+-activated K+ outward currents that alter action potential properties but do not contribute to attenuated excitability of parasympathetic cardiac motoneurons in the nucleus ambiguus of neonatal mice

Previously, we demonstrated that maternal diabetes reduced the excitability and increased small-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (SK) currents of parasympathetic cardiac motoneurons (PCMNs) in the nucleus ambiguus (NA). In addition, blockade of SK channels with apamin completely abolished this reduction. In the present study, we examined whether maternal diabetes affects large-conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) (BK) channels and whether BK channels contribute to the attenuation of PCMN excitability observed in neonates of diabetic mothers. Neonatal mice from OVE26 diabetic mothers (NMDM) and normal FVB mothers (control) were used. The pericardial sac of neonatal mice at postnatal days 7-9 was injected with the tracer X-rhodamine-5 (and 6)-isothiocyanate 2 days prior to the experiment to retrogradely label PCMNs in the NA. Whole cell current- and voltage-clamps were used to measure spike frequency, action potential (AP) repolarization (half-width), afterhyperpolarization potential (AHP), transient outward currents, and afterhyperpolarization currents (I(AHP)). In whole cell voltage clamp mode, we confirmed that maternal diabetes increased transient outward currents and I(AHP) compared with normal cells. Using BK channel blockers charybdotoxin (CTx) and paxilline, we found that maternal diabetes increased CTx- and paxilline-sensitive transient outward currents but did not change CTx- and paxilline-sensitive I(AHP). In whole cell current-clamp mode, we confirmed that maternal diabetes increased AP half-width and AHP, and reduced excitability of PCMNs. Furthermore, we found that after blockade of BK channels with CTx or paxilline, maternal diabetes induced a greater increase of AP half-width but similarly decreased fast AHP without affecting medium AHP. Finally, blockade of BK channels decreased spike frequency in response to current injection in both control and NMDM without reducing the difference of spike frequency between the two groups. Therefore, we conclude that although BK transient outward currents, which may alter AP repolarization, are increased in NMDM, BK channels do not directly contribute to maternal diabetes-induced attenuation of PCMN excitability. In contrast, based on evidence from our previous and present studies, reduction of PCMN excitability in neonates of diabetic mothers is largely dependent on altered SK current associated with maternal diabetes.

SK channels provide a novel mechanism for the control of frequency tuning in electrosensory neurons

One important characteristic of sensory input is frequency, with sensory neurons often tuned to narrow stimulus frequency ranges. Although vital for many neural computations, the cellular basis of such frequency tuning remains mostly unknown. In the electrosensory system of Apteronotus leptorhynchus, the primary processing of important environmental and communication signals occurs in pyramidal neurons of the electrosensory lateral line lobe. Spike trains transmitted by these cells can encode low-frequency prey stimuli with bursts of spikes and high-frequency communication signals with single spikes. Here, we demonstrate that the selective expression of SK2 channels in a subset of pyramidal neurons reduces their response to low-frequency stimuli by opposing their burst responses. Apamin block of the SK2 current in this subset of cells induced bursting and increased their response to low-frequency inputs. SK channel expression thus provides an intrinsic mechanism that predisposes a neuron to respond to higher frequencies and thus specific, behaviorally relevant stimuli.

Ion Channels Generating Complex Spikes in Cartwheel Cells of the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus

Cartwheel cells are glycinergic interneurons that modify somatosensory input to the dorsal cochlear nucleus. They are characterized by firing of mixtures of both simple and complex action potentials. To understand what ion channels determine the generation of these two types of spike waveforms, we recorded from cartwheel cells using the gramicidin perforated-patch technique in brain slices of mouse dorsal cochlear nucleus and applied channel-selective blockers. Complex spikes were distinguished by whether they arose directly from a negative membrane potential or later during a long depolarization. Ca2+ channels and Ca2+-dependent K+ channels were major determinants of complex spikes. Onset complex spikes required T-type and possibly R-type Ca2+ channels and were shaped by BK and SK K+ channels. Complex spikes arising later in a depolarization were dependent on P/Q- and L-type Ca2+ channels as well as BK and SK channels. BK channels also contributed to fast repolarization of simple spikes. Simple spikes featured an afterdepolarization that is probably the trigger for complex spiking and is shaped by T/R-type Ca2+ and SK channels. Fast spikes were dependent on Na+ channels; a large persistent Na+ current may provide a depolarizing drive for spontaneous activity in cartwheel cells. Thus the diverse electrical behavior of cartwheel cells is determined by the interaction of a wide variety of ion channels with a prominent role played by Ca2+.

Historical reflections on the afterhyperpolarization--firing rate relation of vertebrate spinal neurons

In mammalian spinal motoneurons (MNs), the slow component of the afterhyperpolarization (AHP) that follows the spike of each action potential is a major but not the sole determinant of the cells' firing rate. In this brief historical review, we emphasize four points about the AHP-firing rate relation. (1) There is a relatively sparse literature across vertebrates that directly addresses this topic. (2) After the advent of intracellular recording in the early 1950s, there was evidence from mammals to the contrary of an idea that subsequently became prevalent: that the high-firing rates attainable by spinal interneurons (INs) and low-threshold MNs was attributable to their small AHP at rheobase. (3) Further work is needed to determine whether our present findings on the AHP-firing rate relation of turtle cells generalize to the spinal neurons of other vertebrate species. (4) Relevant to point 3, substantial in vivo and in vitro work is potentially available in raw data used in reports on several mammalian and non-mammalian vertebrates. In summary, the factors in addition to the slow AHP that help determine spinal INs and MN firing rate deserve further evaluation across vertebrates, with relevant data already potentially available in several laboratories.

Emergence of intrinsic bursting in trigeminal sensory neurons parallels the acquisition of mastication in weanling rats

There is increasing evidence that a subpopulation of neurons in the dorsal principal sensory trigeminal nucleus are not simple sensory relays to the thalamus but may form the core of the central pattern generating circuits responsible for mastication. In this paper, we used whole cell patch recordings in brain stem slices of young rats to show that these neurons have intrinsic bursting abilities that persist in absence of extracellular Ca(2+). Application of different K(+) channel blockers affected duration and firing rate of bursts, but left bursting ability intact. Bursting was voltage dependent and was abolished by low concentrations of Na(+) channel blockers. The proportion of bursting neurons increased dramatically in the second postnatal week, in parallel with profound changes in several electrophysiological properties. This is the period in which masticatory movements appear and mature. Bursting was associated with the development of an afterdepolarization that depend on maturation of a persistent sodium conductance (I(NaP)). An interesting finding was that the occurrence of bursting and the magnitude of I(NaP) were both modulated by the extracellular concentration of Ca(2+). Lowering extracellular [Ca(2+)] increased both I(NaP) and probability of bursting. We suggest that these mechanisms underlie burst generation in mastication and that similar processes may be found in other motor pattern generators.

Increased Propensity to Seizures After Chronic Cortical Deafferentation In Vivo

Cortical injury may lead to clinical seizures. We investigated the changing patterns of the sleeplike slow oscillation and its tendency to develop into paroxysmal activity consisting of spike-wave (SW) complexes at 2–4 Hz after partial deafferentation of the suprasylvian gyrus. Experiments were carried out in anesthetized cats, at different time intervals (wk 1 to wk 5, W1–W5) after cortical undercut. Multisite field potentials and single or dual intracellular recordings from the whole extent of the deafferented gyrus were used. The field components of the slow oscillation increased in amplitudes and were transformed into paroxysmal patterns, expressed by increased firing rates and tendency to neuronal bursting. The incidence of SW seizures was higher with transition from semiacute (W1) to chronic (W2–W5) stages after cortical undercut. The propagation delay of low-frequency activities decreased from W1 to W5, during both the slow oscillation and seizures. The initiation of seizures took place in territories contiguous to the relatively intact cortex (area 5 in the anterior part of the gyrus), as shown by cross-correlations of field potentials from different sites and simultaneous intracellular recordings from the anterior and posterior parts of the gyrus. The increased amplitudes of both slow oscillation and SW seizures, and their enhanced synchrony expressed by shorter time of propagation, are ascribed to increased neuronal and network excitability after cortical undercut.

Inputs to nucleus pontis caudalis from adjacent trigeminal areas

Recent studies suggest that the nucleus pontis caudalis (nPontc) plays a role in patterning mastication through interactions with the adjacent lateral tegmentum. In this study, we used in vitro intracellular recording and staining to describe the basic membrane properties and morphology of nPontc neurones and to further explore interactions with adjacent structures, using coronal sections of the brainstem of 78 rats, aged 9-28 days. Neurones were large, with dendrites that spread in all directions, and about 64% fired tonically even in the absence of synaptic inputs. Tonic neurones were predominant in the centre of the nucleus. Electrical stimulation of all regions of the nPontc produced mixed excitatory and inhibitory effects on interneurones of lateral tegmental nuclei. Focal inactivation of the dorsal nPontc with injections of tetrodotoxin also had mixed effects on the spontaneous firing of both interneurones and motoneurones but similar injections in the ventral nPontc produced mostly increases of firing. Sixty-five percent of nPontc neurones received synaptic inputs from the lateral tegmental areas and most of these (68%) were excitatory and mediated by glutamatergic receptors. Inhibitory postsynaptic potentials were mediated by GABA(A) or glycinergic receptors. Although most responses occurred at relatively long latencies (> 2 ms), they could follow relatively high-frequency stimulation (> 50 Hz). Excitatory and inhibitory connections between ipsi- and contralateral nPontc neurones were also documented, which could contribute to bilateral coordination of jaw movements. This study provides evidence that the nPontc exerts both tonic and phasic influences on the premotor components of the masticatory central pattern generator.

NMDA receptor-dependent long-term potentiation is dependent on low-voltage-activated calcium currents in the sensorimotor cortex of cats

The role of low-voltage-activated (LVA) calcium channels in the expression of long-term potentiation (LTP) was examined by intracellular recording in slices from cat agranular cortex. In the normal solution, LTP was induced, and the potentiation of low-threshold rebound potential was evoked by negative current injection. In the cells, in which resting membrane potential was depolarized, the incidence of LTP was very low. LTP was blocked completely in the presence of NMDA receptor antagonist or 50-100 microM nickel. It was suggested that LVA calcium channels function downstream of NMDA receptor-dependent signaling.

Electrophysiological classes of cat primary visual cortical neurons in vivo as revealed by quantitative analyses

To facilitate the characterization of cortical neuronal function, the responses of cells in cat area 17 to intracellular injection of current pulses were quantitatively analyzed. A variety of response variables were used to separate the cells into subtypes using cluster analysis. Four main classes of neurons could be clearly distinguished: regular spiking (RS), fast spiking (FS), intrinsic bursting (IB), and chattering (CH). Each of these contained significant subclasses. RS neurons were characterized by trains of action potentials that exhibited spike frequency adaptation. Morphologically, these cells were spiny stellate cells in layer 4 and pyramidal cells in layers 2, 3, 5, and 6. FS neurons had short-duration action potentials (<0.5 ms at half height), little or no spike frequency adaptation, and a steep relationship between injected current intensity and spike discharge frequency. Morphologically, these cells were sparsely spiny or aspiny nonpyramidal cells. IB neurons typically generated a low frequency (<425 Hz) burst of spikes at the beginning of a depolarizing current pulse followed by a tonic train of action potentials for the remainder of the pulse. These cells were observed in all cortical layers, but were most abundant in layer 5. Finally, CH neurons generated repetitive, high-frequency (350-700 Hz) bursts of short-duration (<0.55 ms) action potentials. Morphologically, these cells were layer 2-4 (mainly layer 3) pyramidal or spiny stellate neurons. These results indicate that firing properties do not form a continuum and that cortical neurons are members of distinct electrophysiological classes and subclasses.

Fast rhythmic bursting can be induced in layer 2/3 cortical neurons by enhancing persistent Na+ conductance or by blocking BK channels

Fast rhythmic bursting (or "chattering") is a firing pattern exhibited by selected neocortical neurons in cats in vivo and in slices of adult ferret and cat brain. Fast rhythmic bursting (FRB) has been recorded in certain superficial and deep principal neurons and in aspiny presumed local circuit neurons; it can be evoked by depolarizing currents or by sensory stimulation and has been proposed to depend on a persistent g(Na) that causes spike depolarizing afterpotentials. We constructed a multicompartment 11-conductance model of a layer 2/3 pyramidal neuron, containing apical dendritic calcium-mediated electrogenesis; the model can switch between rhythmic spiking (RS) and FRB modes of firing, with various parameter changes. FRB in this model is favored by enhancing persistent g(Na) and also by measures that reduce [Ca(2+)](i) or that reduce the conductance of g(K(C)) (a fast voltage- and Ca(2+)-dependent conductance). Axonal excitability plays a critical role in generating fast bursts in the model. In vitro experiments in rat layer 2/3 neurons confirmed (as shown previously by others) that RS firing could be switched to fast rhythmic bursting, either by buffering [Ca(2+)](i) or by enhancing persistent g(Na). In addition, our experiments confirmed the model prediction that reducing g(KC) (with iberiotoxin) would favor FRB. During the bursts, fast prepotentials (spikelets) could occur that did not originate in apical dendrites and that appear to derive from the axon. We suggest that modulator-induced regulation of [Ca(2+)] dynamics or of BK channel conductance, for example via protein kinase A, could play a role in determining the firing pattern of neocortical neurons; specifically, such modulation could play a role in regulating whether neurons respond to strong stimulation with fast rhythmic bursts.