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Visual representations by cortical somatostatin inhibitory neurons--selective but with weak and delayed responses.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Ma, W-P; Liu, B-H; Li, Y-T; Huang, ZJ; Zhang, LI; Tao, HW
Published in: J Neurosci
October 27, 2010

Somatostatin-expressing inhibitory (SOM) neurons in the sensory cortex consist mostly of Martinotti cells, which project ascending axons to layer 1. Due to their sparse distribution, the representational properties of these neurons remain largely unknown. By two-photon imaging guided cell-attached recordings, we characterized visual response and receptive field (RF) properties of SOM neurons and parvalbumin-expressing inhibitory (PV) neurons genetically labeled in the mouse primary visual cortex. In contrast to PV neurons, SOM neurons exhibit broader spikes, lower spontaneous firing rates, smaller On/Off subfields, and broader ranges of basic RF properties such as On/Off segregation, orientation and direction tunings. Notably, the level of orientation and direction selectivity is comparable to that of excitatory neurons, from weakly-tuned to highly selective, whereas PV neurons are in general unselective. Strikingly, the evoked spiking responses of SOM cells are ∼3- to 5-fold weaker and 20-25 ms delayed compared with those of PV neurons. The onset latency of the latter is consistent with that of inhibitory input to excitatory neurons. These functional differences between SOM and PV neurons exist in both layer 2/3 and 4. Our results suggest that SOM and PV neurons engage in cortical circuits in different manners: while PV neurons provide fast, strong but untuned feedforward inhibition to excitatory neurons, likely serving as a general gain control for the processing of ascending inputs, SOM neurons with their selective but delayed and weak inhibition may provide more specific gating of later arriving intracortical excitatory inputs on the distal dendrites.

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Published In

J Neurosci

DOI

EISSN

1529-2401

Publication Date

October 27, 2010

Volume

30

Issue

43

Start / End Page

14371 / 14379

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Visual Perception
  • Visual Cortex
  • Somatostatin
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Patch-Clamp Techniques
  • Parvalbumins
  • Neurons
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice
 

Citation

APA
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MLA
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Ma, W.-P., Liu, B.-H., Li, Y.-T., Huang, Z. J., Zhang, L. I., & Tao, H. W. (2010). Visual representations by cortical somatostatin inhibitory neurons--selective but with weak and delayed responses. J Neurosci, 30(43), 14371–14379. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3248-10.2010
Ma, Wen-pei, Bao-hua Liu, Ya-tang Li, Z Josh Huang, Li I. Zhang, and Huizhong W. Tao. “Visual representations by cortical somatostatin inhibitory neurons--selective but with weak and delayed responses.J Neurosci 30, no. 43 (October 27, 2010): 14371–79. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3248-10.2010.
Ma W-P, Liu B-H, Li Y-T, Huang ZJ, Zhang LI, Tao HW. Visual representations by cortical somatostatin inhibitory neurons--selective but with weak and delayed responses. J Neurosci. 2010 Oct 27;30(43):14371–9.
Ma, Wen-pei, et al. “Visual representations by cortical somatostatin inhibitory neurons--selective but with weak and delayed responses.J Neurosci, vol. 30, no. 43, Oct. 2010, pp. 14371–79. Pubmed, doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3248-10.2010.
Ma W-P, Liu B-H, Li Y-T, Huang ZJ, Zhang LI, Tao HW. Visual representations by cortical somatostatin inhibitory neurons--selective but with weak and delayed responses. J Neurosci. 2010 Oct 27;30(43):14371–14379.

Published In

J Neurosci

DOI

EISSN

1529-2401

Publication Date

October 27, 2010

Volume

30

Issue

43

Start / End Page

14371 / 14379

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Visual Perception
  • Visual Cortex
  • Somatostatin
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Patch-Clamp Techniques
  • Parvalbumins
  • Neurons
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice