title: Cooperative Subnetworks of Molecularly Similar Interneurons in Mouse Neocortex.
abstract: Simultaneous co-activation of neocortical neurons is likely critical for brain computations ranging from perception and motor control to memory and cognition. While co-activation of excitatory principal cells (PCs) during ongoing activity has been extensively studied, that of inhibitory interneurons (INs) has received little attention. Here, we show in vivo and in vitro that members of two non-overlapping neocortical IN populations, expressing somatostatin (SOM) or vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), are active as populations rather than individually. We demonstrate a variety of synergistic mechanisms, involving population-specific local excitation, GABAergic disinhibition and excitation through electrical coupling, which likely underlie IN population co-activity. Firing of a few SOM or VIP INs recruits additional members within the cell type via GABAergic and cholinergic mechanisms, thereby amplifying the output of the population as a whole. Our data suggest that IN populations work as cooperative units, thus generating an amplifying nonlinearity in their circuit output.
authors.affiliation: Neurotechnology Center, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA. Electronic address: miikael.mmk@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mahesh M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Karnani
authors.affiliation: Neurotechnology Center, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Jesse
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: Neurotechnology Center, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Inbal
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ayzenshtat
authors.affiliation: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA; MSTP/Neuroscience Graduate Program, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11790, USA.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tucciarone
authors.affiliation: Neurotechnology Center, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Kasra
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Manoocheri
authors.affiliation: Neurotechnology Center, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
authors.forename: William G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Snider
authors.affiliation: Neurotechnology Center, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yuste
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007395:Interneurons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D019579:Neocortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000378:metabolism*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D013004:Somatostatin; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D000109:Acetylcholine