title: Assortment of GABAergic plasticity in the cortical interneuron melting pot.
abstract: Cortical structures of the adult mammalian brain are characterized by a spectacular diversity of inhibitory interneurons, which use GABA as neurotransmitter. GABAergic neurotransmission is fundamental for integrating and filtering incoming information and dictating postsynaptic neuronal spike timing, therefore providing a tight temporal code used by each neuron, or ensemble of neurons, to perform sophisticated computational operations. However, the heterogeneity of cortical GABAergic cells is associated to equally diverse properties governing intrinsic excitability as well as strength, dynamic range, spatial extent, anatomical localization, and molecular components of inhibitory synaptic connections that they form with pyramidal neurons. Recent studies showed that similarly to their excitatory (glutamatergic) counterparts, also inhibitory synapses can undergo activity-dependent changes in their strength. Here, some aspects related to plasticity and modulation of adult cortical and hippocampal GABAergic synaptic transmission will be reviewed, aiming at providing a fresh perspective towards the elucidation of the role played by specific cellular elements of cortical microcircuits during both physiological and pathological operations.
authors.affiliation: European Brain Research Institute (EBRI), Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, Italy. p.mendez@ebri.it
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Méndez
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bacci
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D063385:Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators / Q000502:physiology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D002766:Cholecystokinin / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007395:Interneurons / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D008322:Mammals / Q000502:physiology; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000502:physiology; D043882:Receptors, Cannabinoid / Q000502:physiology; D018079:Receptors, GABA / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D063385:Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D043882:Receptors, Cannabinoid; D018079:Receptors, GABA; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D002766:Cholecystokinin