RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Control of spontaneous activity patterns by inhibitory signaling in the developing visual cortex
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.02.21.959262
DO 10.1101/2020.02.21.959262
A1 Alexandra H. Leighton
A1 Gerrit J. Houwen
A1 Juliette E. Cheyne
A1 Paloma P. Maldonado
A1 Fred De Winter
A1 Christian Lohmann
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/02/24/2020.02.21.959262.abstract
AB During early development, even before the senses are active, bursts of activity travel across the nervous system. This spontaneously generated activity drives the refinement of synaptic connections, preparing young networks for patterned sensory input. Synaptic fine-tuning relies not only on the presence of spontaneous activity, but also on the specific characteristics of these activity patterns, such as their frequency, amplitude and synchronicity. Here, we provide evidence that these crucial characteristics are shaped by the relative balance of excitation and inhibition, where patterns with distinct characteristics have different excitatory/inhibitory ratios. Inhibition can control whether cells participate during a spontaneous event, as pharmacogenetic suppression of the somatostatin (SST) expressing subtype of inhibitory interneurons increased cell recruitment and lateral spread of events.