Skip Navigation



Cerebral Cortex Advance Access published online on October 1, 2008
Cerebral Cortex, doi:10.1093/cercor/bhn141
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplementary Data
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
19/4/926    most recent
bhn141v1
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 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 arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Helmstaedter, M.
Right arrow Articles by Feldmeyer, D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Helmstaedter, M.
Right arrow Articles by Feldmeyer, D.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Neuronal Correlates of Local, Lateral, and Translaminar Inhibition with Reference to Cortical Columns

Moritz Helmstaedter1, Bert Sakmann1 and Dirk Feldmeyer1,2,3

1 Department of Cell Physiology, Max-Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany, 2 Current address: Research Centre Jülich, Institute for Neuroscience and Biophysics, INB-3 Medicine, Leo-Brandt-Strasse, D-52425 Jülich, Germany, 3 Current address: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, D-52074 Aachen

Address correspondence to Moritz Helmstaedter, Department of Cell Physiology, Max-Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Email: moritz.helmstaedter{at}mpimf-heidelberg.mpg.de.

In the neocortex, inhibition by {gamma}-aminobutyric acidergic (GABAergic) interneurons is essential for shaping cortical maps, which represent sensory signals. For a detailed understanding of the stream of excitation evoked, for example, by a sensory stimulus, interneurons must be identified with reference to their impact on excitatory neurons located in different laminae of the same (home) and surround columns. We analyzed the axonal projection of layer 2/3 (L2/3) interneurons with reference to geometric landmarks of cortical columns by staining neurons in acute slices of rat barrel cortex (P20–P29) and a subsequent cluster analysis using morphological parameters that described the spatial distribution of axons. The cluster analysis defined 4 main axonal projection "types" referred to as 1) "local inhibitors" (including "chandelier neurons"), 2) "lateral inhibitors," 3) "translaminar L2/3-to-L4/5 inhibitors," and 4) "translaminar L2/3-to-L1 inhibitors." The putative innervation domains established by axonal projections of the 4 types of interneurons and the dendritic domains of their target excitatory neurons were 1) L2/3 of the home column, 2) L2/3 of both the home and neighboring columns, 3) L4 and L5A of the home column, and 4) L1 and L2/3 of the home column. The quantitative analysis of the axonal projection patterns of an unselected sample of 51 interneurons located in L2/3 thus defined anatomical correlates for local, lateral, and translaminar inhibition within and between cortical columns.

Key Words: axon • barrel cortex • cluster analysis • cortical column • GABAergic interneuron • lateral inhibition • layer 2/3


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




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.