title: Pyramidal and stellate cell specificity of grid and border representations in layer 2 of medial entorhinal cortex.
abstract: In medial entorhinal cortex, layer 2 principal cells divide into pyramidal neurons (mostly calbindin positive) and dentate gyrus-projecting stellate cells (mostly calbindin negative). We juxtacellularly labeled layer 2 neurons in freely moving animals, but small sample size prevented establishing unequivocal structure-function relationships. We show, however, that spike locking to theta oscillations allows assigning unidentified extracellular recordings to pyramidal and stellate cells with ∼83% and ∼89% specificity, respectively. In pooled anatomically identified and theta-locking-assigned recordings, nonspatial discharges dominated, and weakly hexagonal spatial discharges and head-direction selectivity were observed in both cell types. Clear grid discharges were rare and mostly classified as pyramids (19%, 19/99 putative pyramids versus 3%, 3/94 putative stellates). Most border cells were classified as stellate (11%, 10/94 putative stellates versus 1%, 1/99 putative pyramids). Our data suggest weakly theta-locked stellate border cells provide spatial input to dentate gyrus, whereas strongly theta-locked grid discharges occur mainly in hexagonally arranged pyramidal cell patches and do not feed into dentate gyrus.
authors.affiliation: Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt University of Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Qiusong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt University of Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: andrea.burgalossi@cin.uni-tuebingen.de.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burgalossi
authors.affiliation: Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt University of Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt University of Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian Laut
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Ebbesen
authors.affiliation: Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt University of Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Saikat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.affiliation: Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt University of Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naumann
authors.affiliation: Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt University of Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt University of Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spicher
authors.affiliation: Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt University of Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: michael.brecht@bccn-berlin.de.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brecht
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D018728:Entorhinal Cortex / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013826:Theta Rhythm / Q000502:physiology