Optogenetics-assisted characterization of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons in the dentate gyrus in freely behaving mice

In the mammalian brain, neural circuits generate all cognitive functions. Two main neuronal classes compose these circuits: Excitatory principal cells and interneurons, which balance the activity of principal neurons via inhibitory effects and control network activity in the brain. In the hippocampu...

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Main Author: Luis Fernando Cobar Zelaya
Other Authors: Ayumu Tashiro
Format: Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
Language:English
Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/152017
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author Luis Fernando Cobar Zelaya
author2 Ayumu Tashiro
author_facet Ayumu Tashiro
Luis Fernando Cobar Zelaya
author_sort Luis Fernando Cobar Zelaya
collection NTU
description In the mammalian brain, neural circuits generate all cognitive functions. Two main neuronal classes compose these circuits: Excitatory principal cells and interneurons, which balance the activity of principal neurons via inhibitory effects and control network activity in the brain. In the hippocampus, multiple types of interneurons have been classified based on their morphology, post-synaptic target or neurochemical marker. The expression of Ca2+ binding protein, parvalbumin (PV), defines a subtype of interneurons in the dentate gyrus (DG). The activity of PV+ interneurons in the DG and the control exerted over their post-synaptic targets has not been studied in vivo, due to the difficulty of recording them, owing to their low numbers and the challenge to unambiguously isolate their activity from other interneurons. In this work, I aim to characterized PV+ interneuron activity in the DG of freely behaving mice and their control over other neurons via the use of optogenetics and single-unit recording. We show that DG PV+ interneurons display a high mean firing rate, are phase-locked to theta oscillations, and lack spatial modulation in their firing during exploration. Optogenetic activation of DG PV+ interneurons resulted in a significant reduction in the firing rate of principal cells and interneurons in the DG. These results provide evidence of the inhibitory role of PV+ interneurons over other cells in the DG, and it expands our knowledge regarding the interactions between different types of neurons in the DG in vivo.
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spelling ntu-10356/1520172023-02-28T18:42:40Z Optogenetics-assisted characterization of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons in the dentate gyrus in freely behaving mice Luis Fernando Cobar Zelaya Ayumu Tashiro School of Biological Sciences atashiro@ntu.edu.sg Science::Biological sciences In the mammalian brain, neural circuits generate all cognitive functions. Two main neuronal classes compose these circuits: Excitatory principal cells and interneurons, which balance the activity of principal neurons via inhibitory effects and control network activity in the brain. In the hippocampus, multiple types of interneurons have been classified based on their morphology, post-synaptic target or neurochemical marker. The expression of Ca2+ binding protein, parvalbumin (PV), defines a subtype of interneurons in the dentate gyrus (DG). The activity of PV+ interneurons in the DG and the control exerted over their post-synaptic targets has not been studied in vivo, due to the difficulty of recording them, owing to their low numbers and the challenge to unambiguously isolate their activity from other interneurons. In this work, I aim to characterized PV+ interneuron activity in the DG of freely behaving mice and their control over other neurons via the use of optogenetics and single-unit recording. We show that DG PV+ interneurons display a high mean firing rate, are phase-locked to theta oscillations, and lack spatial modulation in their firing during exploration. Optogenetic activation of DG PV+ interneurons resulted in a significant reduction in the firing rate of principal cells and interneurons in the DG. These results provide evidence of the inhibitory role of PV+ interneurons over other cells in the DG, and it expands our knowledge regarding the interactions between different types of neurons in the DG in vivo. Doctor of Philosophy 2021-07-14T06:59:10Z 2021-07-14T06:59:10Z 2020 Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy Luis Fernando Cobar Zelaya (2020). Optogenetics-assisted characterization of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons in the dentate gyrus in freely behaving mice. Doctoral thesis, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/152017 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/152017 10.32657/10356/152017 en This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). application/pdf Nanyang Technological University
spellingShingle Science::Biological sciences
Luis Fernando Cobar Zelaya
Optogenetics-assisted characterization of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons in the dentate gyrus in freely behaving mice
title Optogenetics-assisted characterization of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons in the dentate gyrus in freely behaving mice
title_full Optogenetics-assisted characterization of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons in the dentate gyrus in freely behaving mice
title_fullStr Optogenetics-assisted characterization of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons in the dentate gyrus in freely behaving mice
title_full_unstemmed Optogenetics-assisted characterization of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons in the dentate gyrus in freely behaving mice
title_short Optogenetics-assisted characterization of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons in the dentate gyrus in freely behaving mice
title_sort optogenetics assisted characterization of parvalbumin expressing interneurons in the dentate gyrus in freely behaving mice
topic Science::Biological sciences
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/152017
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