Gene-environment interactions in cortical interneuron development and dysfunction: A review of preclinical studies.

ABSTRACT: Cortical interneurons (cINs) are a diverse group of locally projecting neurons essential to the organization and regulation of neural networks. Though they comprise only ∼20% of neurons in the neocortex, their dynamic modulation of cortical activity is requisite for normal cognition and underlies multiple aspects of learning and memory. While displaying significant morphological, molecular, and electrophysiological variability, cINs collectively function to maintain the excitatory-inhibitory balance in the cortex by dampening hyperexcitability and synchronizing activity of projection neurons, primarily through use of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Disruption of the excitatory-inhibitory balance is a common pathophysiological feature of multiple seizure and

SUBMITTER: Ansen-Wilson LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5328258 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature