Summary Hippocampal CA1 and CA3 pyramidal neuron place cells encode the spatial location of an animal through localized firing patterns called “place fields”. To explore the mechanisms that control place cell firing and their relationship to spatial memory, we studied mice with enhanced spatial memory resulting from forebrain-specific knockout of the HCN1 hyperpolarization-activated cation channel. HCN1 is strongly expressed in CA1 neurons and entorhinal cortex grid cells, which provide spatial information to the hippocampus. Both CA1 and CA3 place fields were larger but more stable in the knockout mice, with the effect greater in CA1 than CA3. As HCN1 is only weakly expressed in CA3 place cells, their altered activity likely reflects loss of HCN1 in grid cells. The more pronounced changes in CA1 likely reflect the intrinsic contribution of HCN1. The enhanced place field stability may underlie the effect of HCN1 deletion to facilitate spatial learning and memory.

In many cortical neurons, HCN1 channels are the major contributors to I h , the hyperpolarization-activated current, which regulates the intrinsic properties of neurons and shapes their integration of synaptic inputs, paces rhythmic activity, and regulates synaptic plasticity. Here, we examine the physiological role of I h in deep layer pyramidal neurons in mouse prefrontal cortex (PFC), focusing on persistent activity, a form of sustained firing thought to be important for the behavioral function of the PFC during working memory tasks. We find that HCN1 contributes to the intrinsic persistent firing that is induced by a brief depolarizing current stimulus in the presence of muscarinic agonists. Deletion of HCN1 or acute pharmacological blockade of I h decreases the fraction of neurons capable of generating persistent firing. The reduction in persistent firing is caused by the membrane hyperpolarization that results from the deletion of HCN1 or I h blockade, rather than a specific role of the hyperpolarization-activated current in generating persistent activity. In vivo recordings show that deletion of HCN1 has no effect on up states, periods of enhanced synaptic network activity. Parallel behavioral studies demonstrate that HCN1 contributes to the PFC-dependent resolution of proactive interference during working memory. These results thus provide genetic evidence demonstrating the importance of HCN1 to intrinsic persistent firing and the behavioral output of the PFC. The causal role of intrinsic persistent firing in PFC-mediated behavior remains an open question.

In certain neurons from different brain regions, a brief burst of action potentials can activate a slow afterdepolarization (sADP) in the presence of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonists. The sADP, if suprathreshold, can contribute to persistent non-accommodating firing in some of these neurons. Previous studies have characterized a Ca2+-activated non-selective cation (CAN) current (ICAN) that is thought to underlie the sADP. ICAN depends on muscarinic receptor stimulation and exhibits a dependence on neuronal activity, membrane depolarization and Ca2+-influx similar to that observed for the sADP. Despite the widespread occurrence of sADPs in neurons throughout the brain, the molecular identity of the ion channels underlying these events, as well as ICAN, remains uncertain. Here we used a combination of genetic, pharmacological and electrophysiological approaches to characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying the muscarinic receptor-dependent sADP in layer 5 pyramidal neurons of mouse prefrontal cortex. First, we confirmed that in the presence of the cholinergic agonist carbachol a brief burst of action potentials triggers a prominent sADP in these neurons. Second, we confirmed that this sADP requires activation of a PLC signaling cascade and intracellular calcium signaling. Third, we obtained direct evidence that the transient receptor potential (TRP) melastatin 5 channel (TRPM5), which is thought to function as a CAN channel in non-neural cells, contributes importantly to the sADP in the layer 5 neurons. In contrast, the closely related TRPM4 channel may play only a minor role in the sADP.

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Specific patterns of stimulation applied in the ventral hippocampus produce long-term potentiation (LTP) of postsynaptic synapses in the prefrontal cortex in vivo. The induction of LTP is dependent on NMDA receptors and cAMP-dependant kinase (PKA) activation. Yet little is known concerning the cellular mechanisms underlying the expression of this neocortical form of LTP. In the present study, we tested whether LTP at hippocampal to prefrontal cortex synapses leads to activation of DARPP-32 and CREB as well as defined the temporal regulation of the phosphorylation states of both proteins. Our data indicate a peak in CREB and DARPP-32 phosphorylation during the late phase of prefrontal LTP (2 h posttetanus). These findings support the hypothesis that prolonged expression of hippocampal-prefrontal cortex LTP depends on a synergistic mechanism involving phosphorylation of both CREB and DARPP-32 via activation of the cAMP/PKA-dependent pathway.