Skip Navigation


Cerebral Cortex Advance Access originally published online on April 20, 2005
Cerebral Cortex 2006 16(2):200-211; doi:10.1093/cercor/bhi098
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
16/2/200    most recent
bhi098v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (7)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by West, D. C.
Right arrow Articles by Thomson, A. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by West, D. C.
Right arrow Articles by Thomson, A. M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org

Layer 6 Cortico-thalamic Pyramidal Cells Preferentially Innervate Interneurons and Generate Facilitating EPSPs

David C. West, Audrey Mercer, Sarah Kirchhecker, Oliver T. Morris and Alex M. Thomson

Department of Pharmacology, The School of Pharmacy, University of London 29–39 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AX, UK

Address correspondence to Prof. A.M. Thomson, Department of Pharmacology, The School of Pharmacy, 29–39 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AX, UK. Email: alex.thomson{at}ulsop.ac.uk.

The properties of the connections made by the axons of pyramidal cells with cortico-thalamic (CT)-like morphology with a range of postsynaptic layer 6 targets were studied with dual intracellular recordings in slices of adult rat and cat neocortex. The cells were filled with biocytin and identified morphologically and, where appropriate, immunofluorescently. CT-like pyramids contacted interneurons with a very high probability (up to 1:2) but contacted other layer 6 pyramidal cells only rarely (~1:80). The excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) that they elicited both in pyramidal cells and in a variety of types of interneurons (including those immunopositive for parvalbumin and for somatostatin) facilitated, the second EPSP being larger than the first over a range of interspike intervals. Facilitation was not, however, maximal at the shortest intervals; in fact, depression was apparent at some connections at short interspike intervals. Facilitation in the majority of connections peaked at intervals of 25–35 ms and then declined slowly. Nor did these connections display the augmentation typical of many other strongly facilitating connections. Third EPSPs were smaller on average than second EPSPs, and fourth and subsequent EPSPs could be depressed (relative to first EPSPs). The properties of the outputs of these CT-like pyramidal cells are therefore quite distinct from those of other pyramidal cells, both within layer 6 and in other layers, possibly reflecting their unique role as both first order thalamo-cortical recipient and cortico-thalamic output neurons.

Key Words: cortico-thalamic • EPSP (excitatory postsynaptic potential) • layer 6 pyramidal cell • facilitation • interneuron • microcircuitry


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Neurophysiol.Home page
P. Kumar and O. Ohana
Inter- and Intralaminar Subcircuits of Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurons in Layer 6a of the Rat Barrel Cortex
J Neurophysiol, October 1, 2008; 100(4): 1909 - 1922.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
S. M. Kassam, P. M. Herman, N. M. Goodfellow, N. C. Alves, and E. K. Lambe
Developmental Excitation of Corticothalamic Neurons by Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors
J. Neurosci., August 27, 2008; 28(35): 8756 - 8764.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
Z. Tan, H. Hu, Z. J. Huang, and A. Agmon
Robust but delayed thalamocortical activation of dendritic-targeting inhibitory interneurons
PNAS, February 12, 2008; 105(6): 2187 - 2192.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
A. P. Bannister and A. M. Thomson
Dynamic Properties of Excitatory Synaptic Connections Involving Layer 4 Pyramidal Cells in Adult Rat and Cat Neocortex
Cereb Cortex, September 1, 2007; 17(9): 2190 - 2203.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
A. Bremaud, D. C. West, and A. M. Thomson
Binomial parameters differ across neocortical layers and with different classes of connections in adult rat and cat neocortex
PNAS, August 28, 2007; 104(35): 14134 - 14139.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
T. Karayannis, I. Huerta-Ocampo, and M. Capogna
GABAergic and Pyramidal Neurons of Deep Cortical Layers Directly Receive and Differently Integrate Callosal Input
Cereb Cortex, May 1, 2007; 17(5): 1213 - 1226.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Physiol.Home page
A. B. Ali, A. P. Bannister, and A. M. Thomson
Robust correlations between action potential duration and the properties of synaptic connections in layer 4 interneurones in neocortical slices from juvenile rats and adult rat and cat
J. Physiol., April 1, 2007; 580(1): 149 - 169.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.