Inhibition by Somatostatin Interneurons in Olfactory Cortex

• Published in: Frontiers in neural circuits Vol. 10; p. 62
• Main Authors: Large, Adam M, Kunz, Nicholas A, Mielo, Samantha L, Oswald, Anne-Marie M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Research Foundation 17.08.2016; Frontiers Media S.A
• Subjects: Animals; Automation; Cerebral Cortex - metabolism; Cerebral Cortex - physiology; Cortex (olfactory); Cortex (piriform); Dendrites; Female; Information processing; inhibitory connections; Interneurons; Interneurons - metabolism; Interneurons - physiology; Laboratories; Male; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Neocortex - metabolism; Neocortex - physiology; Neural Inhibition - physiology; Neurons; Neuroscience; Olfactory pathways; Optogenetic stimulation; Optogenetics; Paleocortex; Parvalbumin; parvalbumin interneurons; Parvalbumins - metabolism; Phenotypes; piriform cortex; Piriform Cortex - metabolism; Piriform Cortex - physiology; Pyramidal cells; Pyramidal Cells - metabolism; Pyramidal Cells - physiology; Rodents; Sensory integration; Sensory neurons; Somatosensory cortex; Somatostatin; Somatostatin - metabolism; Somatostatin Interneurons; Transgenic animals; Transgenic mice; United States > US; Pittsburgh Pennsylvania; optogenetic stimulation; piriform cortex; inhibitory connections; parvalbumin interneurons; somatostatin interneurons
• ISSN: 1662-5110; 1662-5110
• DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2016.00062

Inhibitory circuitry plays an integral role in cortical network activity. The development of transgenic mouse lines targeting unique interneuron classes has significantly advanced our understanding of the functional roles of specific inhibitory circuits in neocortical sensory processing. In contrast, considerably less is known about the circuitry and function of interneuron classes in piriform cortex, a paleocortex responsible for olfactory processing. In this study, we sought to utilize transgenic technology to investigate inhibition mediated by somatostatin (SST) interneurons onto pyramidal cells (PCs), parvalbumin (PV) interneurons, and other interneuron classes. As a first step, we characterized the anatomical distributions and intrinsic properties of SST and PV interneurons in four transgenic lines (SST-cre, GIN, PV-cre, and G42) that are commonly interbred to investigate inhibitory connectivity. Surprisingly, the distributions SST and PV cell subtypes targeted in the GIN and G42 lines were sparse in piriform cortex compared to neocortex. Moreover, two-thirds of interneurons recorded in the SST-cre line had electrophysiological properties similar to fast spiking (FS) interneurons rather than regular (RS) or low threshold spiking (LTS) phenotypes. Nonetheless, like neocortex, we find that SST-cells broadly inhibit a number of unidentified interneuron classes including putatively identified PV cells and surprisingly, other SST cells. We also confirm that SST-cells inhibit pyramidal cell dendrites and thus, influence dendritic integration of afferent and recurrent inputs to the piriform cortex. Altogether, our findings suggest that SST interneurons play an important role in regulating both excitation and the global inhibitory network during olfactory processing.