A population of gap junction-coupled neurons drives recurrent network activity in a developing visual circuit

Journal of Neurophysiology
Zhenyu LiuKara G Pratt

Abstract

In many regions of the vertebrate brain, microcircuits generate local recurrent activity that aids in the processing and encoding of incoming afferent inputs. Local recurrent activity can amplify, filter, and temporally and spatially parse out incoming input. Determining how these microcircuits function is of great interest because it provides glimpses into fundamental processes underlying brain computation. Within the Xenopus tadpole optic tectum, deep layer neurons display robust recurrent activity. Although the development and plasticity of this local recurrent activity has been well described, the underlying microcircuitry is not well understood. Here, using a whole brain preparation that allows for whole cell recording from neurons of the superficial tectal layers, we identified a physiologically distinct population of excitatory neurons that are gap junctionally coupled and through this coupling gate local recurrent network activity. Our findings provide a novel role for neuronal coupling among excitatory interneurons in the temporal processing of visual stimuli.

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Citations

Aug 1, 2016·Current Opinion in Neurobiology·Zhenyu LiuKara G Pratt
Sep 25, 2018·Developmental Neurobiology·Zhenyu LiuKara G Pratt
Dec 10, 2016·Frontiers in Neural Circuits·Eric V JangArseny S Khakhalin
Jul 11, 2019·Journal of Neurophysiology·Silas E Busch, Arseny S Khakhalin

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