Developmental Divergence of Sensory Stimulus Representation in Cortical Interneurons

Kastli, R.; Vighagen, R.; van der Bourg, A.; Argunsah, A. O.; Iqbal, A.; Voigt, F. F.; Kirschenbaum, D.; Aguzzi, A.; Helmchen, F.; Karayannis, T.

doi:10.1101/2020.04.28.065680

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.04.28.065680

Developmental Divergence of Sensory Stimulus Representation in Cortical Interneurons

Kastli, R.·Vighagen, R.·van der Bourg, A.·Argunsah, A. O.·Iqbal, A.·Voigt, F. F.·Kirschenbaum, D.·Aguzzi, A.·Helmchen, F.·Karayannis, T.

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Abstract

Two inhibitory cell types involved in modulating barrel cortex activity and perception during active whisking in adult mice, are the VIP+ and SST+ interneurons. Here we identify a developmental transition point of structural and functional rearrangements onto these interneuron types around the start of active sensation at P14. Using in vivo two-photon Ca2+ imaging, we find that before P14, both interneuron types respond stronger to a multi-whisker stimulus, whereas after P14 their responses diverge, with VIP+ cells losing their multi-whisker preference and SST+ neurons enhancing theirs. Rabies virus tracings followed by tissue clearing, as well as photostimulation-coupled electrophysiology reveal that SST+ cells receive higher cross-barrel inputs compared to VIP+ at both time points. In addition, we also uncover that whereas prior to P14 both cell types receive direct input from the sensory thalamus, after P14 VIP+ cells show reduced inputs and SST+ cells largely shift to motor-related thalamic nuclei.

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Kastli, R., Vighagen, R., van der Bourg, A., Argunsah, A. O., Iqbal, A., Voigt, F. F., Kirschenbaum, D., Aguzzi, A., Helmchen, F., Karayannis, T.. 2020-04-30. Developmental Divergence of Sensory Stimulus Representation in Cortical Interneurons. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.28.065680

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