Center for Perceptual Systems, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Center for Learning and Memory, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Center for Learning and Memory, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712, USA; Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, 2415 Speedway, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Neuron. 2020 Jul 8;107(1):185-196.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.04.001. Epub 2020 Apr 28.
Neurons are input-output (I/O) devices-they receive synaptic inputs from other neurons, integrate those inputs with their intrinsic properties, and generate action potentials as outputs. To understand this fundamental process, we studied the interaction between synaptic inputs and intrinsic properties using whole-cell recordings from V1 neurons of awake, fixating macaque monkeys. Our measurements during spontaneous activity and visual stimulation reveal an intrinsic voltage-gated conductance that profoundly alters the integrative properties and visual responses of cortical neurons. This voltage-gated conductance increases neuronal gain and selectivity with subthreshold depolarization and linearizes the relationship between synaptic input and neural output. This intrinsic conductance is found in layer 2/3 V1 neurons of awake macaques, anesthetized mice, and acute brain slices. These results demonstrate that intrinsic conductances play an essential role in shaping the I/O relationship of cortical neurons and must be taken into account in future models of cortical computations.
神经元是输入-输出(I/O)设备——它们从其他神经元接收突触输入,将这些输入与自身固有特性整合,并产生动作电位作为输出。为了理解这一基本过程,我们使用清醒、注视的猕猴 V1 神经元的全细胞膜片钳记录技术,研究了突触输入与固有特性之间的相互作用。我们在自发活动和视觉刺激期间的测量结果揭示了一种内在的电压门控电导,它深刻地改变了皮层神经元的整合特性和视觉反应。这种电压门控电导会随着亚阈值去极化而增加神经元的增益和选择性,并使突触输入与神经输出之间的关系线性化。这种内在电导存在于清醒猕猴、麻醉小鼠和急性脑片中的 V1 神经元的 2/3 层。这些结果表明,内在电导在塑造皮层神经元的 I/O 关系方面起着至关重要的作用,在未来的皮层计算模型中必须考虑到这一点。