|
|
||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rapid Report |
1 Laboratory of Cellular and Synaptic Neurophysiology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| Abstract |
|---|
|
|
|---|
(Received 7 December 2005;
accepted after revision 19 January 2006;
first published online 26 January 2006)
Corresponding author J. Lawrence: Laboratory on Cellular and Synaptic Neurophysiology, Building 35, Rm 3C907, NICHD-LCSN, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Email: lawrenjo{at}mail.nih.gov
| Introduction |
|---|
|
|
|---|
In vivo studies have demonstrated an important role of cholinergic transmission in the amplification of theta rhymicity (Lee et al. 1994). Although in vitro models of mAChR-induced network oscillations reveal complex changes in the pattern of synaptic input onto individual interneurones (McMahon et al. 1998; Fellous & Sejnowski, 2000; Reich et al. 2005), postsynaptic effects of mAChR activation also alter interneuronal output properties (McQuiston & Madison, 1999b; Cobb & Davies, 2005; Lawrence et al. 2006). For example, horizontally orientated SO interneurones exhibit intrinsic resonance and spike transfer frequency preference in the theta range (512 Hz; Pike et al. 2000) but it is not clear how mAChR activation influences the oscillatory properties of these cells.
Although a large number of horizontal cell types exist within SO (Maccaferri, 2005), most depolarize upon mAChR activation (McQuiston & Madison, 1999a; Lawrence et al. 2006). We recently determined that the vast majority of cells with this depolarizing phenotype are the so-called O-LM interneurones (Lawrence et al. 2006), named because their axons ramify on the distal dendrites of CA1 pyramidal cells in stratum lacunosum moleculare (LM; Fig. 1A; McBain et al. 1994). O-LM cells exhibit a prominent M1/M3-mediated afterdepolarization (ADP) that can promote sustained firing (Fig. 1B; Lawrence et al. 2006). Here, we determine how oscillatory activity is impacted by mAChR activation in these cells. We demonstrate that mAChR activation increases firing reliability and sharpens firing precision to theta frequency input, thereby tuning interneurones to amplify theta oscillations.
|
| Methods |
|---|
|
|
|---|
22°C). Only cells that depolarized, that were clearly excited upon mAChR activation, and that displayed electrophysiological properties characteristic of O-LM interneurones (i.e. sag upon hyperpolarization) were included in the study (Lawrence et al. 2006); cells that initially hyperpolarized upon mAChR activation, indicating a different subclass of SO interneurone (Lawrence et al. 2006), were not included. The extracellular solution contained (mM): 130 NaCl, 3.5 KCl, 1.25 NaH2PO4, 25 NaHCO3, 10 glucose, 2 MgCl2, 2 CaCl2, saturated with carbogen. NMDA, AMPA and GABAA responses were blocked with DL-APV (100 µM), DNQX (25 µM) and gabazine (5 µM). mAChRs were activated via bath application of 10 µM muscarine. Pipette resistances ranged from 2.5 to 4.5 M
when filled with (mM): 135 potassium gluconate, 10 Hepes, 0.1 EGTA, 2 Na2ATP, 0.3 Na2GTP, 20 KCl. Recordings were performed with an Axoclamp 200B or Multiclamp 700A amplifier (Molecular Devices, Union City, CA, USA), filtered at 3 kHz (Bessel filter, Frequency Devices, Haverhill, MA, USA), and digitized at 1020 kHz (Digidata 1320A and pCLAMP Software, Molecular Devices). Input current protocols and analysis programs were written in Axograph 4.7 (Molecular Devices) by the authors. In Figs 13, firing threshold was found empirically by injecting enough bias current to induce a series of APs. The bias current was then reduced until APs were no longer observed. This starting voltage was noted as Vbaseline, and the bias current was adjusted throughout the experiment such that the cell was maintained at Vbaseline at the beginning of all trials in all conditions. Sinusoidal protocols were repeated 25 times in each condition. Due to the influence of voltage level on action potential initiation, trials in which Vbaseline varied by more than 12 mV from the original Vbaseline value were excluded from the analysis. Moreover, except in Fig. 4, Vbaseline was within a voltage range such that the ADP was tonically active. This permitted stability in voltage level throughout sinusoidal stimulation, as measured by the negligible average voltage difference in the first and last seconds of the sinusoidal stimulation (0.046 ± 0.04 mV difference, n= 8, P= 0.30). Data are presented as means ±S.E.M.
|
|
| Results |
|---|
|
|
|---|
O-LM interneurones are participants in oscillatory activity in vivo (Cobb et al. 1995; Klausberger et al. 2003). To investigate how postsynaptic mAChR activation impacts on the intrinsic oscillatory properties of these interneurones, we introduced sinusoidal current injections into these cells across a range of input frequencies in the presence of blockers of synaptic transmission. Although sinusoidal stimulation only grossly approximates rhythmic IPSP/EPSP barrages occurring during in vivo oscillations, sinusoidal stimulation has several advantages over synaptically evoked oscillatory input: it allows fine control over the amplitude, frequency and regularity of the input current, as well as the initial membrane potential of the cell (Garcia-Munoz et al. 1993; Leung & Yu, 1998; Pike et al. 2000).
To determine whether mAChR activation increases AP reliability, sinusoidal currents were introduced into SO interneurones under control conditions and in the presence of 10 µM muscarine. Under these conditions, mAChR activation induced increased firing (Fig. 1C). To quantify how well the cell reproduced the same output with repeated trials of the same stimuli, we used a reliability statistic (Schreiber et al. 2003; see also Supplemental material Appendix) that is sensitive both to changes in AP presence and timing (Supplemental material Fig. 1). A representative cell is illustrated in Fig. 1D. In control conditions, a peak in reliability occurred at approximately 5 Hz, consistent with the frequency preference for these cells (Pike et al. 2000). Maximum reliability increased after application of 10 µM muscarine, from 0.57 at 4 Hz (grey arrow) to 0.76 at 6 Hz (black arrow). In a population of 9 cells, muscarine increased peak reliability (from 0.69 ± 0.04 to 0.86 ± 0.04, P= 0.002) without changing the frequency preference (Fig. 1E; 9.3 ± 2.0 versus 10.1 ± 1.7 Hz, P= 0.62, n= 9). The mAChR-induced increase in reliability was largest when averaged across theta frequencies (512 Hz, Fig. 1E; from 0.45 ± 0.05 to 0.72 ± 0.04, P= 6 x 105).
We hypothesized that increased reliability may occur by increasing the slope during the upswing of the sinusoidal cycle, which can effectively lower threshold for AP initiation (Azouz & Gray, 2000). To test this hypothesis, we measured the slope (dV/dt) of the voltage response in a 3-ms window just prior to AP initiation (Fig. 1F, bars). mAChR activation increased the slope during the upswing of the cycle (Fig. 1F). This increase was statistically significant when averaged over the theta range (Fig. 1G, and 0.60 ± 0.03 to 0.71 ± 0.05 V s1, n= 8, P= 0.009). To control for timing of the AP within the cycle, we also measured the slope at a fixed point in the sinusoidal cycle (in a 7479 degree window; dotted lines in Fig. 1F). Using this measurement, mAChR activation also increased the slope (Fig. 1H), and was significant when averaged over the theta range (0.031 ± 0.0031 to 0.036 ± 0.0027 V s1, P= 0.0028).
Muscarine increases spike presence and broadens the frequency band for 1: 1 phase locking
An increase in AP reliability can arise from a change in AP presence and/or a change in the precision of APs. We therefore first asked whether mAChR activation induced a change in AP presence by examining the rotation number (R#), defined as the average number of APs per cycle. A plot of R#versus frequency for a representative cell is shown in Fig. 2A. At low frequencies, even though R# was as high as 10 spikes/cycle (Fig. 2A, inset), AP reliability was low (Fig. 1E), indicating that APs come at variable times during the cycle. As frequency increases and the duration of the cycle shortens, R# falls. When R# becomes 1, the R#phase locks (Ascoli et al. 1977; Keener et al. 1981) across a range of frequencies (Fig. 2A) and reliability is highest. At higher frequencies, R# drops below 1 as low pass filter properties of the membrane dampen the voltage deflection. In nine cells, bath application of 10 µM muscarine caused a general increase in R# at most frequencies. This increase was statistically significant when averaged over the theta band (512 Hz; from 0.79 ± 0.07 to 1.11 ± 0.08, P= 0.007). Finally, mAChR activation broadened the plateau bandwidth (here defined as R#= 1 ± 0.4) for 1: 1 phase locking (Fig. 2C and D; 8.2 ± 2.4 Hz versus 15.3 ± 2.0 Hz, n= 8, P < 0.02).
|
To address whether mAChR activation increases AP reliability through improved spike time precision, we examined AP timing within a cycle. In an example cell, overlaying traces within a cycle (Fig. 3A and B) revealed that mAChR activation narrowed the distribution of spike times and shifted AP firing to earlier in the cycle (Fig. 3C). In a population of nine cells, mAChR activation improved firing precision when averaged over the theta frequency band, as measured both by phase error (Fig. 3Da, 9.8 ± 1.3 degrees versus 6.2 ± 1.5 degrees, P= 0.005) and spike jitter (Fig. 3Db, 3.5 ± 0.5 ms versus 2.2 ± 0.6 ms, P= 0.005). In addition, mAChR activation shifted spike timing to earlier in the cycle (Fig. 3Dc, 170 ± 16 degrees versus 154 ± 12 degrees; P= 0.03). Thus, mAChR activation increases AP reliability through improvements in both phase locking and spike timing precision in O-LM interneurones.
Finally, we determined how mAChR-induced ADPs (Lawrence et al. 2006) influenced oscillatory input in O-LM cells. We triggered a mAChR-induced ADP by introducing 4 s long, 5 Hz oscillatory inputs from a hyperpolarized potential of 60 mV (Fig. 4). Over the course of sinusoidal stimulation, a mAChR-induced ADP developed (Fig. 4A; by 1.7 ± 0.5 mV, P= 0.01, n= 10), which was accompanied by an increase in AP probability (from 0.42 ± 0.11 to 0.71 ± 0.09, n= 10, P= 0.002). In a population of cells in which phase could be measured reliably in control (n= 7) and muscarinic (n= 8) conditions, mAChR activation induced a shift in average phase (from 219 ± 4 to 206 ± 5 degrees, n= 7, P= 0.006). However, this shift in phase was progressive over the course of the sinusoidal stimulation (Fig. 4A and B); while the APs occurred at a similar time in the cycle initially (Fig. 4C), mAChR activation shifted the timing of AP generation to earlier in the cycle (Fig. 4D). Comparing the first (01) and last (34) second of the sinusoidal stimulation, phase in control conditions increased from 212 ± 3 to 220 ± 3 degrees (Fig. 4E, grey; 6 of 7 cells, P= 0.03; P= 0.13 for all 7 cells). Upon mAChR activation, phase shifted from 218 ± 6 degrees at seconds 01 to 208 ± 6 degrees at seconds 34 (n= 8, P= 0.026). Thus, mAChR activation can induce phase shift and an increase in AP probability in O-LM cells, which can occur through both depolarization-dependent and -independent mechanisms.
| Discussion |
|---|
|
|
|---|
The spike transfer frequency preference of a neurone emerges from a complex interplay between active conductances and the low-pass filtering characteristics of the cell, but it is unclear how neuromodulation impacts on these processes. We previously identified three ionic conductances that are modulated by mAChR activation in O-LM cells: an M-current (IM), a calcium-activated potassium conductance (IAHP), and a calcium-dependent cationic conductance (ICAT; Lawrence et al. 2006). On the basis of these mAChR-dependent conductances, we propose that inhibition of IM and IAHP, coupled to the activation of ICAT, increases AP reliability and spike precision during oscillatory input through the following mechanisms. mAChR modulation of these three conductances together depolarizes the cell, as revealed by an increase in holding current at 60 mV (Lawrence et al. 2006). In control conditions, activation of IM, coupled to activity-dependent activation of IAHP, progressively shunts and dampens oscillatory input. However, when mAChRs are activated, these forces are inhibited and ICAT activated. These collective conductances essentially counteract each other such that no net change in input resistance occurs outside of the range of activation of mAChR-sensitive conductances. However, near threshold potentials, mAChR activation causes a relative increase in the input resistance, which increases the slope during the upswing of the cycle compared to control conditions (Fig. 1F and G). The increased slope effectively lowers the threshold for AP initiation (Azouz & Gray, 2000), accounting for increased AP reliability, phase locking, precision, and phase shift observed upon mAChR activation (Figs 13). Thus, tuning of the oscillatory properties of O-LM interneurones requires the coordinated inhibition of IM and IAHP and activation of ICAT in the proximity of the activated mAChRs. Future modelling studies will likely reveal the role that each of these conductances contributes to mAChR-induced changes in spike timing and reliability.
mAChR activation tunes the intrinsic oscillatory properties of O-LM to amplify spike transmission at theta frequencies
In vivo studies have indicated that cholinergic transmission plays a key role in the amplification of theta rhythmicity (Lee et al. 1994). Here we show that mAChR-mediated amplification can occur postsynaptically in a specific subpopulation of hippocampal interneurone, the O-LM cells. This amplification arises from depolarization-dependent and -independent mechanisms, increasing AP reliability, precision, and 1: 1 firing all at theta frequencies. Moreover, mAChR activation induced phase shift solely through postsynaptic means, a phenomenon that may be relevant to information coding during theta oscillations in vivo (Buzsaki, 2002). These changes may translate into increased synchrony in the rhythmic disinhibition of pyramidal cells, facilitating the entrainment of pyramidal cells at theta frequencies.
What is the signficance of mAChR activation of O-LM interneurones during theta oscillations? A recent model of theta oscillations, which reproduces experimentally observed phase relationships in pyramidal cells and interneurones, suggests that O-LM neurones participate in the retrieval cycle of the theta wave in which entorhinal cortical input to the hippocampus is at a minimum (Kunec et al. 2005). During this time, O-LM cells prevent weak afferents of the entorhinal cortex not involved in encoding the memory from reaching threshold. The model predicts that memory encoding and retrieval is best when O-LM cells discharge on every theta cycle. Thus, cholinergic input from the septum may optimize memory retrieval by promoting phase locking of O-LM cells at theta frequency.
| Supplemental material |
|---|
|
|
|---|
DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2005.103218
http://jp.physoc.org/cgi/content/full/jphysiol.2005.0103218/DC1
and contains supplemental material consisting of an Appendix and a figure entitled The reliability statistic.
This material can also be found as part of the full-text HTML version available from http://www.blackwell-synergy.com
| Footnotes |
|---|
| References |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Azouz
R
&
Gray
CM (2000). Dynamic spike threshold reveals a mechanism for synaptic coincidence detection in cortical neurons in vivo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
97, 81108115.
Buzsaki G (2002). Theta oscillations in the hippocampus. Neuron 33, 325340.[CrossRef][Medline]
Cobb SR, Buhl EH, Halasy K, Paulsen O & Somogyi P (1995). Synchronization of neuronal activity in hippocampus by individual GABAergic interneurons. Nature 378, 7578.[CrossRef][Medline]
Cobb
SR
&
Davies
CH (2005). Cholinergic modulation of hippocampal cells and circuits. J Physiol
562, 8188.
Fellous JM & Sejnowski TJ (2000). Cholinergic induction of oscillations in the hippocampal slice in the slow (0.52 Hz), theta (512 Hz), and gamma (3570 Hz) bands. Hippocampus 10, 187197.[CrossRef][Medline]
Garcia-Munoz A, Barrio LC & Buno W (1993). Membrane potential oscillations in CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons in vitro: intrinsic rhythms and fluctuations entrained by sinusoidal injected current. Exp Brain Res 97, 325333.[Medline]
Gloveli
T, Dugladze
T, Saha
S, Monyer
H, Heinemann
U, Traub
RD, Whittington
MA
&
Buhl
EH (2005). Differential involvement of oriens/pyramidale interneurones in hippocampal network oscillations in vitro. J Physiol
562, 131147.
Keener JP, Hoppensteadt FC & Rinzel J (1981). Integrate-and-fire models of nerve membrane response to oscillatory input. Siam J Appl Math 41, 503517.[CrossRef]
Klausberger T, Magill PJ, Marton LF, Roberts JD, Cobden PM, Buzsaki G & Somogyi P (2003). Brain-state- and cell type-specific firing of hippocampal interneurons in vivo. Nature 421, 844848.[CrossRef][Medline]
Klausberger T, Marton LF, Baude A, Roberts JD, Magill PJ & Somogyi P (2004). Spike timing of dendrite-targeting bistratified cells during hippocampal network oscillations in vivo. Nat Neurosci 7, 4147.[CrossRef][Medline]
Kunec
S, Hasselmo
M
&
Kopell
N (2005). Encoding and retrieval in the CA3 region of the hippocampus: a model of theta phase separation. J Neurophysiol
94, 7082.
Lawrence
JJ, Statland
JM, Grinspan
ZM
&
McBain
CJ (2006). Cell type-specific dependence of muscarinic signaling in mouse hippocampal stratum oriens interneurons. J Physiol
570, 595610.
Lee MG, Chrobak JJ, Sik A, Wiley RG & Buzsaki G (1994). Hippocampal theta activity following selective lesion of the septal cholinergic system. Neuroscience 62, 10331047.[CrossRef][Medline]
Leung
LS
&
Yu
HW (1998). Theta-frequency resonance in hippocampal CA1 neurons in vitro demonstrated by sinusoidal current injection. J Neurophysiol
79, 15921596.
Lisman
JE
&
Idiart
MA (1995). Storage of 7 +/ 2 short-term memories in oscillatory subcycles. Science
267, 15121515.
McBain CJ, DiChiara TJ & Kauer JA (1994). Activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors differentially affects two classes of hippocampal interneurons and potentiates excitatory synaptic transmission. J Neurosci 14, 44334445.[Abstract]
Maccaferri
G (2005). Stratum oriens horizontal interneuron diversity and hippocampal network dynamics. J Physiol
562, 7380.
McMahon
LL, Williams
JH
&
Kauer
JA (1998). Functionally distinct groups of interneurons identified during rhythmic carbachol oscillations in hippocampus in vitro. J Neurosci
18, 56405651.
McQuiston
AR
&
Madison
DV (1999a). Muscarinic receptor activity has multiple effects on the resting membrane potentials of CA1 hippocampal interneurons. J Neurosci
19, 56935702.
McQuiston
AR
&
Madison
DV (1999b). Muscarinic receptor activity induces an afterdepolarization in a subpopulation of hippocampal CA1 interneurons. J Neurosci
19, 57035710.
Pike
FG, Goddard
RS, Suckling
JM, Ganter
P, Kasthuri
N
&
Paulsen
O (2000). Distinct frequency preferences of different types of rat hippocampal neurones in response to oscillatory input currents. J Physiol
529, 205213.
Reich
CG, Karson
MA, Karnup
SV, Jones
LM
&
Alger
BE (2005). Regulation of IPSP theta rhythm by muscarinic receptors and endocannabinoids in hippocampus. J Neurophysiol
94, 42904299.
Schreiber
S, Fellous
JM, Tiesinga
P
&
Sejnowski
TJ (2004). Influence of ionic conductances on spike timing reliability of cortical neurons for suprathreshold rhythmic inputs. J Neurophysiol
91, 194205.
Schreiber S, Fellous JM, Whitmer D, Tiesinga P & Sejnowski TJ (2003). A new correlation-based measure of spike timing reliability. Neurocomputing 5254, 925931.
Somogyi
P
&
Klausberger
T (2005). Defined types of cortical interneurone structure space and spike timing in the hippocampus. J Physiol
562, 926.
Whittington MA & Traub RD (2003). Interneuron diversity series: inhibitory interneurons and network oscillations in vitro. Trends Neurosci 26, 676682.[CrossRef][Medline]
| Acknowledgements |
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
M. L. Lorincz, V. Crunelli, and S. W. Hughes Cellular Dynamics of Cholinergically Induced {alpha} (8 13 Hz) Rhythms in Sensory Thalamic Nuclei In Vitro J. Neurosci., January 16, 2008; 28(3): 660 - 671. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. T. Pressler, T. Inoue, and B. W. Strowbridge Muscarinic Receptor Activation Modulates Granule Cell Excitability and Potentiates Inhibition onto Mitral Cells in the Rat Olfactory Bulb J. Neurosci., October 10, 2007; 27(41): 10969 - 10981. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. Goldin, J. Epsztein, I. Jorquera, A. Represa, Y. Ben-Ari, V. Crepel, and R. Cossart Synaptic Kainate Receptors Tune Oriens-Lacunosum Moleculare Interneurons to Operate at Theta Frequency J. Neurosci., September 5, 2007; 27(36): 9560 - 9572. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. J. Lawrence, F. Saraga, J. F. Churchill, J. M. Statland, K. E. Travis, F. K. Skinner, and C. J. McBain Somatodendritic Kv7/KCNQ/M Channels Control Interspike Interval in Hippocampal Interneurons. J. Neurosci., November 22, 2006; 26(47): 12325 - 12338. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |