Laminarly orthogonal excitation of fast-spiking and low-threshold-spiking interneurons in mouse motor cortex

J Neurosci. 2012 May 16;32(20):7021-33. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0011-12.2012.

Abstract

In motor cortex, long-range output to subcortical motor circuits depends on excitatory and inhibitory inputs converging on projection neurons in layers 5A/B. How interneurons interconnect with these projection neurons, and whether these microcircuits are interneuron and/or projection specific, is unclear. We found that fast-spiking interneurons received strong intralaminar (horizontal) excitation from pyramidal neurons in layers 5A/B including corticostriatal and corticospinal neurons, implicating them in mediating disynaptic recurrent, feedforward, and feedback inhibition within and across the two projection classes. Low-threshold-spiking (LTS) interneurons were instead strongly excited by descending interlaminar (vertical) input from layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons, implicating them in mediating disynaptic feedforward inhibition to both projection classes. Furthermore, in a novel pattern, lower layer 2/3 preferentially excited interneurons in one layer (5A/LTS) and excitatory neurons in another (5B/corticospinal). Thus, these inhibitory microcircuits in mouse motor cortex follow an orderly arrangement that is laminarly orthogonalized by interneuron-specific, projection-nonspecific connectivity.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Action Potentials / physiology
  • Animals
  • Corpus Striatum / physiology*
  • Female
  • Interneurons / physiology*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Motor Cortex / physiology*
  • Neural Inhibition / physiology
  • Neural Pathways / physiology
  • Neuroanatomical Tract-Tracing Techniques / methods
  • Pyramidal Cells / physiology
  • Pyramidal Tracts / physiology*