Whole-cell Patch-clamp Recordings from Morphologically- and Neurochemically-identified Hippocampal Interneurons

Abstract

GABAergic inhibitory interneurons play a central role within neuronal circuits of the brain. Interneurons comprise a small subset of the neuronal population (10-20%), but show a high level of physiological, morphological, and neurochemical heterogeneity, reflecting their diverse functions. Therefore, investigation of interneurons provides important insights into the organization principles and function of neuronal circuits. This, however, requires an integrated physiological and neuroanatomical approach for the selection and identification of individual interneuron types. Whole-cell patch-clamp recording from acute brain slices of transgenic animals, expressing fluorescent proteins under the promoters of interneuron-specific markers, provides an efficient method to target and electrophysiologically characterize intrinsic and synaptic properties of specific interneuron types. Combined with intracellular dye labeling, this approach can be extended with post-hoc morphological and immunocytochemical analysis, enabling systematic identification of recorded neurons. These methods can be tailored to suit a broad range of scientific questions regarding functional properties of diverse types of cortical neurons. Video LinkThe video component of this article can be found at

Estrus-Cycle Regulation of Cortical Inhibition

“…We found a significant increase in ongoing firing rates when fast-spiking neurons were recorded Table S1. after local estrogen application compared to vehicle application ( Figures 5B and 5C; Mann-Whitney U test, p = 0.013, N = 9 vehicle, N = 14 estradiol, experiment and analysis performed blind to condition). To further elucidate the mechanism of estrogen action in the somatosensory cortex, we performed patch-clamp recordings in brain slices from ovariectomized female VGAT-Venus transgenic rats [28,29] ( Figure 5D). Layer V VGAT-Venus cells were targeted with fluorescent illumination, and characteristic fastspiking firing patterns were confirmed prior to drug application.…”

Estrus-Cycle Regulation of Cortical Inhibition

“…To further elucidate the mechanism of estrogen action in the somatosensory cortex, we performed patch-clamp recordings in brain slices from ovariectomized female VGAT-Venus transgenic rats (Booker et al, 2014;Uematsu et al, 2008) (Figure 6D).…”

Postsynaptic GABABRs Inhibit L-Type Calcium Channels and Abolish Long-Term Potentiation in Hippocampal Somatostatin Interneurons

“…In brief, 300-mm acute hippocampal slices were prepared from juvenile (17-to 25-day-old) and adult (50-to 60-day-old) male Wistar rats (Booker et al, 2014(Booker et al, , 2017. All experiments were performed in accordance with institutional, local governmental (LaGeSo, Berlin T 0215/11; LaGeSo, Freiburg X-14/11H) and national guidelines (German Animal Welfare Act; ASPA, United Kingdom Home Office).…”