title: Neuronal activity controls the development of interneurons in the somatosensory cortex.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Neuronal activity in cortical areas regulates neurodevelopment by interacting with defined genetic programs to shape the mature central nervous system. Electrical activity is conveyed to sensory cortical areas via intracortical and thalamocortical neurons, and includes oscillatory patterns that have been measured across cortical regions.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  In this work, we review the most recent findings about how electrical activity shapes the developmental assembly of functional circuitry in the somatosensory cortex, with an emphasis on interneuron maturation and integration. We include studies on the effect of various neurotransmitters and on the influence of thalamocortical afferent activity on circuit development. We additionally reviewed studies describing network activity patterns.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted an extensive literature search using both the PubMed and Google Scholar search engines. The following keywords were used in various iterations: "interneuron", "somatosensory", "development", "activity", "network patterns", "thalamocortical", "NMDA receptor", "plasticity". We additionally selected papers known to us from past reading, and those recommended to us by reviewers and members of our lab.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We reviewed a total of 132 articles that focused on the role of activity in interneuronal migration, maturation, and circuit development, as well as the source of electrical inputs and patterns of cortical activity in the somatosensory cortex. 79 of these papers included in this timely review were written between 2007 and 2016.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neuronal activity shapes the developmental assembly of functional circuitry in the somatosensory cortical interneurons. This activity impacts nearly every aspect of development and acquisition of mature neuronal characteristics, and may contribute to changing phenotypes, altered transmitter expression, and plasticity in the adult. Progressively changing oscillatory network patterns contribute to this activity in the early postnatal period, although a direct requirement for specific patterns and origins of activity remains to be demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Center for Neurogenetics, Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA; Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan Kettering Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Babij
authors.affiliation: Center for Neurogenetics, Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: De Marco Garcia
keywords: NMDA receptors; interneuron; neurodevelopment; neuronal maturation; neuroplasticity; thalamocortical