Translaminar Cortical Membrane Potential Synchrony in Behaving Mice.
The synchronized activity of six layers of cortical neurons is critical for sensory perception and the control of voluntary behavior, but little is known about the synaptic mechanisms of cortical synchrony across layers in behaving animals. We made single and dual whole-cell recordings from the primary somatosensory forepaw cortex in awake mice and show that L2/3 and L5 excitatory neurons have layer-specific intrinsic properties and membrane potential dynamics that shape laminar-specific firing rates and subthreshold synchrony. First, while sensory and movement-evoked synaptic input was tightly correlated across layers, spontaneous action potentials and slow spontaneous subthreshold fluctuations had laminar-specific timing; second, longer duration forepaw movement was associated with a decorrelation of subthreshold activity; third, spontaneous and sensory-evoked forepaw movements were signaled more strongly by L5 than L2/3 neurons. Together, our data suggest that the degree of translaminar synchrony is dependent upon the origin (sensory, spontaneous, and movement) of the synaptic input.
Department of Neuroscience, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin-Buch, Robert-Rössle-Straße 10, 13092 Berlin, Germany; Cluster of Excellence NeuroCure, Neuroscience Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Wen-Jie
WJ
Zhao
Department of Neuroscience, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin-Buch, Robert-Rössle-Straße 10, 13092 Berlin, Germany; Cluster of Excellence NeuroCure, Neuroscience Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany; Department of Biology, Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
Jens
J
Kremkow
Department of Neuroscience, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin-Buch, Robert-Rössle-Straße 10, 13092 Berlin, Germany; Cluster of Excellence NeuroCure, Neuroscience Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: james.poulet@mdc-berlin.de.
James F A
JF
Poulet
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D005121:Extremities / Q000502:physiology; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000502:physiology; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology; D014110:Touch; D014851:Wakefulness