European Brain Research Institute (EBRI), Via del Fosso di Fiorano 64, 00143 Rome, Italy.
Neural Plast. 2011;2011:976856. doi: 10.1155/2011/976856. Epub 2011 Jul 11.
Cortical structures of the adult mammalian brain are characterized by a spectacular diversity of inhibitory interneurons, which use GABA as neurotransmitter. GABAergic neurotransmission is fundamental for integrating and filtering incoming information and dictating postsynaptic neuronal spike timing, therefore providing a tight temporal code used by each neuron, or ensemble of neurons, to perform sophisticated computational operations. However, the heterogeneity of cortical GABAergic cells is associated to equally diverse properties governing intrinsic excitability as well as strength, dynamic range, spatial extent, anatomical localization, and molecular components of inhibitory synaptic connections that they form with pyramidal neurons. Recent studies showed that similarly to their excitatory (glutamatergic) counterparts, also inhibitory synapses can undergo activity-dependent changes in their strength. Here, some aspects related to plasticity and modulation of adult cortical and hippocampal GABAergic synaptic transmission will be reviewed, aiming at providing a fresh perspective towards the elucidation of the role played by specific cellular elements of cortical microcircuits during both physiological and pathological operations.
成年哺乳动物大脑的皮质结构以其丰富多样的抑制性中间神经元为特征，这些神经元使用 GABA 作为神经递质。GABA 能神经传递对于整合和过滤传入信息以及决定突触后神经元的发放时间至关重要，因此为每个神经元或神经元集合提供了一种用于执行复杂计算操作的紧密的时间编码。然而，皮质 GABA 能细胞的异质性与内在兴奋性以及强度、动态范围、空间范围、解剖定位和它们与锥体神经元形成的抑制性突触连接的分子成分同样多样化有关。最近的研究表明，与兴奋性（谷氨酸能）突触类似，抑制性突触的强度也可以发生活动依赖性变化。在这里，将回顾与成年皮质和海马 GABA 能突触传递的可塑性和调制相关的一些方面，旨在为阐明皮质微电路特定细胞元件在生理和病理过程中的作用提供新的视角。
