Precisely Timed Nicotinic Activation Drives SST Inhibition in Neocortical Circuits.

ABSTRACT: Sleep, waking, locomotion, and attention are associated with cell-type-specific changes in neocortical activity. The effect of brain state on circuit output requires understanding of how neuromodulators influence specific neuronal classes and their synapses, with normal patterns of neuromodulator release from endogenous sources. We investigated the state-dependent modulation of a ubiquitous feedforward inhibitory motif in mouse sensory cortex, local pyramidal (Pyr) inputs onto somatostatin (SST)-expressing interneurons. Paired whole-cell recordings in acute brain slices and in vivo showed that Pyr-to-SST synapses are remarkably weak, with failure rates approaching 80%. Pharmacological screening revealed that cholinergic agonists uniquely enhance synaptic efficacy. Brief, optogenetically ga

SUBMITTER: Urban-Ciecko J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6588401 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature