0000000000511179
AUTHOR
Jochen F. Staiger
Electrophysiological and morphological properties of Cajal–Retzius cells with different ontogenetic origins
International audience; The different origins of Cajal-Retzius cells (CRc) as well as their diverse molecular profile suggest that this cell type may represent different neuronal subpopulations. In order to investigate whether CRc from different origins show distinct functional or morphological characteristics we used transgenic Dbx1(cre);ROSA26(YFP) mice in which two subpopulations of CRc, originating from the septum and ventral pallium (VP) at the pallial-subpallial border (PSB), were permanently labeled by yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) expression. Electrophysiological properties of YFP(+) and YFP(-) CRc were investigated by whole-cell patch-clamp recordings, while a thorough somatoden…
Optical release of caged glutamate for stimulation of neurons in the in vitro slice preparation
Optical stimulation techniques prove useful to map func- tional inputs in the in vitro brain slice preparation: Glutamate released by a focused beam of UV light induces action potentials, which can be detected in postsynaptic neurons. The direct activation effect is influenced by factors such as compound concentration, focus depth, light absorption in the tissue, and sensitivity of different neuronal do- mains. We analyze information derived from direct stimulation ex- periments in slices from rat barrel cortex and construct a computa- tional model of a layer V pyramidal neuron that reproduces the experimental findings. The model predictions concerning the influ- ence of focus depth on inpu…
CoCoDat: a database system for organizing and selecting quantitative data on single neurons and neuronal microcircuitry.
We present a novel database system for organizing and selecting quantitative experimental data on single neurons and neuronal microcircuitry that has proven useful for reference-keeping, experimental planning and computational modelling. Building on our previous experience with large neuroscientific databases, the system takes into account the diversity and method-dependence of single cell and microcircuitry data and provides tools for entering and retrieving published data without a priori interpretation or summarizing. Data representation is based on the framework suggested by biophysical theory and enables flexible combinations of data on membrane conductances, ionic and synaptic current…
Cell type-specific circuits of cortical layer IV spiny neurons
Sensory signal processing in cortical layer IV involves two major morphological classes of excitatory neurons: spiny stellate and pyramidal cells. It is essentially unknown how these two cell types are integrated into intracortical networks and whether they play different roles in cortical signal processing. We mapped their cell-specific intracortical afferents in rat somatosensory cortex through a combination of whole-cell patch-clamp recordings and caged glutamate photolysis. Spiny stellate cells received monosynaptic excitation and inhibition originating almost exclusively from neurons located within the same barrel. Pyramidal cells, by contrast, displayed additional excitatory inputs fr…