Electrical coupling regulates layer 1 interneuron microcircuit formation in the neocortex

The coexistence of electrical and chemical synapses among interneurons is essential for interneuron function in the neocortex. However, it remains largely unclear whether electrical coupling between interneurons influences chemical synapse formation and microcircuit assembly during development. Here...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2016-08, Vol.7 (1), p.12229-12229, Article 12229
Main Authors: Yao, Xing-Hua, Wang, Min, He, Xiang-Nan, He, Fei, Zhang, Shu-Qing, Lu, Wenlian, Qiu, Zi-Long, Yu, Yong-Chun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
9/74
Action Potentials - physiology
Animals
Connexins - physiology
gamma-Aminobutyric Acid - physiology
Gap Junction delta-2 Protein
Gap Junctions - physiology
Humanities and Social Sciences
Interneurons - physiology
Mice
multidisciplinary
Neocortex - embryology
Neocortex - physiology
Neural Inhibition - physiology
Neurobiology
Neurosciences
Receptors, GABA-A - metabolism
RNA Interference
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Synapses - physiology
Synaptic Potentials
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The coexistence of electrical and chemical synapses among interneurons is essential for interneuron function in the neocortex. However, it remains largely unclear whether electrical coupling between interneurons influences chemical synapse formation and microcircuit assembly during development. Here, we show that electrical and GABAergic chemical connections robustly develop between interneurons in neocortical layer 1 over a similar time course. Electrical coupling promotes action potential generation and synchronous firing between layer 1 interneurons. Furthermore, electrically coupled interneurons exhibit strong GABA-A receptor-mediated synchronous synaptic activity. Disruption of electrical coupling leads to a loss of bidirectional, but not unidirectional, GABAergic connections. Moreover, a reduction in electrical coupling induces an increase in excitatory synaptic inputs to layer 1 interneurons. Together, these findings strongly suggest that electrical coupling between neocortical interneurons plays a critical role in regulating chemical synapse development and precise formation of circuits. Electrical and chemical synapses coexist in neocortex interneurons. Here, Yao et al . show that during development, electrical and GABAergic chemical synapses form at the same time, and that this coupling synchronizes firing between layer 1 interneurons.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/ncomms12229