Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Networks of GABAergic interneurons are implicated in synchronizing cortical activity at gamma frequencies (30-70 Hz). Here we demonstrate that the combined electrical and GABAergic synaptic coupling of basket cells instantaneously entrained gamma-frequency postsynaptic firing in layers 2/3 of rat somatosensory cortex. This entrainment was mediated by rapid curtailment of gap junctional coupling potentials by GABAA receptor-mediated IPSPs. Electron microscopy revealed spatial proximity of gap junctions and GABAergic synapses on somata and dendrites. Electrical coupling alone entrained postsynaptic firing with a phase lag, whereas unitary GABAergic connections were ineffective in gamma-frequency phasing. These observations demonstrate precise spatiotemporal mechanisms underlying action potential timing in oscillating interneuronal networks.

Original publication

DOI

10.1038/73936

Type

Journal article

Journal

Nat Neurosci

Publication Date

04/2000

Volume

3

Pages

366 - 371

Keywords

Action Potentials, Age Factors, Animals, Bicuculline, Cell Communication, Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials, GABA Antagonists, Gap Junctions, Interneurons, Microscopy, Electron, Rats, Rats, Wistar, Synapses, gamma-Aminobutyric Acid