Two differential frequency-dependent mechanisms regulating tonic firing of thalamic reticular neurons.
Transmission through the thalamus activates circuits involving the GABAergic neurons of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN). TRN cells receive excitatory inputs from thalamocortical and corticothalamic cells and send inhibitory projections to thalamocortical cells. The inhibitory output of TRN neurons largely depends on the level of excitatory drive to these cells but may also be partly under the control of mechanisms intrinsic to the TRN. We examined two such possible mechanisms, short-term plasticity at glutamatergic synapses in the TRN and intra-TRN inhibition. In rat brain slices, responses of TRN neurons to brief trains of stimuli applied to glutamatergic inputs were recorded in voltage- or current-clamp mode. In voltage clamp, TRN cells showed no change in alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic current amplitudes to stimulation at non-gamma frequencies (< 30 Hz), simulating background activity, but exhibited short-term depression in these amplitudes to stimulation at gamma frequencies (> 30 Hz), simulating sensory transmission. In current clamp, TRN cells increased their spike outputs in burst and tonic firing modes to increasing stimulus-train frequencies. These increases in spike output were most likely due to temporal summation of excitatory postsynaptic potentials. However, the frequency-dependent increase in tonic firing was attenuated at gamma stimulus frequencies, indicating that the synaptic depression selectively observed in this frequency range acts to suppress TRN cell output. In contrast, intra-TRN inhibition reduced spike output selectively at non-gamma stimulus frequencies. Thus, our data indicate that two intrinsic mechanisms play a role in controlling the tonic spike output of TRN neurons and these mechanisms are differentially related to two physiologically meaningful stimulus frequency ranges.
Medical Research Council Centre for Synaptic Plasticity, Department of Anatomy, School of Medical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK.
Rajen B
RB
Mistry
John T R
JT
Isaac
John W
JW
Crabtree
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D020646:Intralaminar Thalamic Nuclei / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000378:metabolism; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology
D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D018698:Glutamic Acid