title: Defining cortical frequency tuning with recurrent excitatory circuitry.
abstract: Neurons in the recipient layers of sensory cortices receive excitatory input from two major sources: the feedforward thalamocortical and recurrent intracortical inputs. To address their respective functional roles, we developed a new method for silencing cortex by competitively activating GABA(A) while blocking GABA(B) receptors. In the rat primary auditory cortex, in vivo whole-cell recording from the same neuron before and after local cortical silencing revealed that thalamic input occupied the same area of frequency-intensity tonal receptive field as the total excitatory input, but showed a flattened tuning curve. In contrast, excitatory intracortical input was sharply tuned with a tuning curve that closely matched that of suprathreshold responses. This can be attributed to a selective amplification of cortical cells' responses at preferred frequencies by intracortical inputs from similarly tuned neurons. Thus, weakly tuned thalamocortical inputs determine the subthreshold responding range, whereas intracortical inputs largely define the tuning. Such circuits may ensure a faithful conveyance of sensory information.
authors.affiliation: Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, University of Southern California, 1501 San Pablo Street, Los Angeles, California 90033, USA.
authors.forename: Bao-hua
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Guangying K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arbuckle
authors.forename: Huizhong W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.forename: Li I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D000818:Animals; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000166:cytology*; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D001418:Baclofen / Q000494:pharmacology; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004347:Drug Interactions; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D005260:Female; D018755:GABA Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D009025:Morpholines / Q000494:pharmacology; D009118:Muscimol / Q000494:pharmacology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: C095804:(+)-(S)-5,5-dimethylmorpholinyl-2-acetic acid; D018755:GABA Agonists; D009025:Morpholines; D009118:Muscimol; D001418:Baclofen