Spontaneous and artificial activation of neocortical seizures. (73/6550)

The aim of this study is to disclose the mechanisms underlying the recruitment of neocortical networks during slow-wave sleep oscillations evolving into spike-wave (SW) seizures. 1) We investigated the activation of SW seizures in a seizure-prone neocortex by means of electrical stimuli applied within the frequency range of spontaneous sleep oscillations. Stimuli were grouped in bursts of 10 Hz, similar to sleep spindles, and repeated every 2 s, to reproduce their rhythmic recurrence imposed by the slow (<1 Hz) sleep oscillation. Either cortical or thalamic stimuli, which were applied while the cortex displayed sleeplike activity, gradually induced paroxysmal responses in intracellularly recorded neocortical neurons, which were virtually identical to those of spontaneous seizures and consisted of a progressive buildup of paroxysmal depolarizing shifts (PDSs). 2) The ability of cortical networks to follow stimuli was tested at various stimulation frequencies (1-3 Hz) and quantified by calculating the entropy of the ensuing oscillation. Rhythmic PDSs were optimally induced, and the lowest entropy was generated, at a stimulation frequency around 1.5 Hz. Fast runs at 10-15 Hz, which often override PDSs, thus contributing to the polyspike-wave pattern of seizures, were induced by cortical stimuli, but were disturbed by thalamic stimuli. Spontaneous seizures generally evolved toward an accelerated discharge of PDSs. It is suggested that these accelerating trends during SW seizures act as protective mechanisms by provoking the uncoupling of cortical networks and eventually arresting the seizure.  (+info)

Nicotinic receptor activation in human cerebral cortical interneurons: a mechanism for inhibition and disinhibition of neuronal networks. (74/6550)

Cholinergic control of the activity of human cerebral cortical circuits has long been thought to be accounted for by the interaction of acetylcholine (ACh) with muscarinic receptors. Here we report the discovery of functional nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) in interneurons of the human cerebral cortex and discuss the physiological and clinical implications of these findings. The whole-cell mode of the patch-clamp technique was used to record responses triggered by U-tube application of the nonselective agonist ACh and of the alpha7-nAChR-selective agonist choline to interneurons visualized by means of infrared-assisted videomicroscopy in slices of the human cerebral cortex. Choline induced rapidly desensitizing whole-cell currents that, being sensitive to blockade by methyllycaconitine (MLA; 50 nM), were most likely subserved by an alpha7-like nAChR. In contrast, ACh evoked slowly decaying whole-cell currents that, being sensitive to blockade by dihydro-beta-erythroidine (DHbetaE; 10 microM), were most likely subserved by an alpha4beta2-like nAChR. Application of ACh (but not choline) to the slices also triggered GABAergic postsynaptic currents (PSCs). Evidence is provided that ACh-evoked PSCs are the result of activation of alpha4beta2-like nAChRs present in preterminal axon segments and/or in presynaptic terminals of interneurons. Thus, nAChRs can relay inhibitory and/or disinhibitory signals to pyramidal neurons and thereby modulate the activity of neuronal circuits in the human cerebral cortex. These mechanisms, which appear to be retained across species, can account for the involvement of nAChRs in cognitive functions and in certain neuropathological conditions.  (+info)

Synchrony generation in recurrent networks with frequency-dependent synapses. (75/6550)

Throughout the neocortex, groups of neurons have been found to fire synchronously on the time scale of several milliseconds. This near coincident firing of neurons could coordinate the multifaceted information of different features of a stimulus. The mechanisms of generating such synchrony are not clear. We simulated the activity of a population of excitatory and inhibitory neurons randomly interconnected into a recurrent network via synapses that display temporal dynamics in their transmission; surprisingly, we found a behavior of the network where action potential activity spontaneously self-organized to produce highly synchronous bursts involving virtually the entire network. These population bursts were also triggered by stimuli to the network in an all-or-none manner. We found that the particular intensities of the external stimulus to specific neurons were crucial to evoke population bursts. This topographic sensitivity therefore depends on the spectrum of basal discharge rates across the population and not on the anatomical individuality of the neurons, because this was random. These results suggest that networks in which neurons are even randomly interconnected via frequency-dependent synapses could exhibit a novel form of reflex response that is sensitive to the nature of the stimulus as well as the background spontaneous activity.  (+info)

Relationship of activity in the subthalamic nucleus-globus pallidus network to cortical electroencephalogram. (76/6550)

One of the functions of the excitatory subthalamic nucleus (STN) is to relay cortical activity to other basal ganglia structures. The response of the STN to cortical input is shaped by inhibition from the reciprocally connected globus pallidus (GP). To examine the activity in the STN-GP network in relation to cortical activity, we recorded single and multiple unit activity in STN and/or GP together with cortical electroencephalogram in anesthetized rats during various states of cortical activation. During cortical slow-wave activity (SWA), STN and GP neurons fired bursts of action potentials at frequencies that were similar to those of coincident slow ( approximately 1 Hz) and spindle (7-14 Hz) cortical oscillations. Spontaneous or sensory-driven global activation was associated with a reduction of SWA and a shift in STN-GP activity from burst- to tonic- or irregular-firing. Rhythmic activity in STN and GP neurons was lost when the cortex was inactivated by spreading depression and did not resume until SWA had recovered. Although rhythmic STN-GP activity was correlated with SWA, the phase relationships of activities of neurons within the STN and GP and between the nuclei were variable. Even when neurons displayed synchronous bursting activity, correlations on the millisecond time scale, which might indicate shared synaptic input, were not observed. These data indicate that (1) STN and GP activity is intimately related to cortical activity and hence the sleep-wake cycle; (2) rhythmic oscillatory activity in the STN-GP network in disease states may be driven by the cortex; and (3) activity of the STN-GP network is regulated in space in a complex manner.  (+info)

Neural systems underlying the recognition of familiar and newly learned faces. (77/6550)

Memory for famous faces can be used to examine the neural systems underlying retrieval from long-term memory. To date, there have been a limited number of functional neuroimaging investigations examining famous face recognition. In this study, we compared recognition of famous faces to recognition of newly learned faces. Whole-brain, event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to image regional changes in neural activity in 11 subjects during the encoding of unfamiliar faces and during familiarity judgments for: (1) newly learned faces, (2) unfamiliar face distractors, and (3) famous faces. Image analyses were restricted to correct recognition trials. Recognition accuracy and response time to famous and recently learned faces were equivalent. Recognition of famous faces was associated with a widespread network of bilateral brain activations involving the prefrontal, lateral temporal, and mesial temporal (hippocampal and parahippocampal regions) regions compared to recognition of recently encoded faces or unfamiliar faces seen for the first time. Findings are discussed in relation to current proposals concerning the neural regions thought to participate in long-term memory retrieval and, more specifically, in relation to retrieval of information from the person identity semantic system.  (+info)

Traveling slow waves of neural activity: a novel form of network activity in developing neocortex. (78/6550)

Spontaneous neuronal firing during development has the potential to shape many aspects of neuronal wiring throughout the brain. Bursts of electrical activity coordinated among large numbers of neurons, occurring during a brief developmental window, have been described in many regions of the CNS, including retina, hippocampus, and spinal cord, but evidence for this type of activity in developing neocortex has so far been lacking. To identify conditions that may give rise to patterned spontaneous electrical activity in developing neocortex, cholinergic agonists were applied to immature rat cortical slices while large-scale activity was imaged optically with fura-2 AM. Here I show that activation of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors results in waves of correlated neural activity. Waves recruit large numbers of neurons, are slowly propagating, regenerative events involving depolarization and associated calcium transients, and advance for many millimeters as a sharp wave front perpendicular to the pial surface, at speeds ranging between 50 and 300 m/sec. The expression of waves is restricted temporally to a brief period in postnatal development, until postnatal day 6, and spatially to some neocortical areas. The ability of isolated neocortical networks to generate large-scale patterned activity endogenously during a period of massive neurite extension and synaptogenesis raises the possibility that at least in some cortical areas these processes might be influenced by patterned neuronal firing generated independently of thalamocortical input.  (+info)

Structured long-range connections can provide a scaffold for orientation maps. (79/6550)

In the visual cortex of the cat and ferret, it is established that maturation of orientation selectivity is shaped by experience-dependent plasticity. However, recent experiments indicate that orientation maps are remarkably stable and experience-independent. We present a model to account for these seemingly paradoxical results. In this model, a scaffold consisting of non-isotropic lateral connections is laid down in horizontal circuitry before visual experience. These lateral connections provide an experience-independent framework for the developing orientation maps by inducing a broad orientation tuning bias in the model neurons. Experience-dependent plasticity of the thalamocortical connections sharpens the tuning while the preferred orientation of the neurons remains unchanged. This model is verified by computer simulations in which the scaffolds are generated both artificially and inferred from experimental optical imaging data. The plasticity is modeled by the BCM synaptic plasticity rule, and the input environment consists of natural images. We use this model to provide a possible explanation of the recent observation in which two eyes without common visual experience develop similar orientation maps. Finally, we propose an experiment involving the disruption of lateral connections to distinguish this model from models proposed by others.  (+info)

Decoding temporal information: A model based on short-term synaptic plasticity. (80/6550)

In the current paper it is proposed that short-term plasticity and dynamic changes in the balance of excitatory-inhibitory interactions may underlie the decoding of temporal information, that is, the generation of temporally selective neurons. Our initial approach was to simulate excitatory-inhibitory disynaptic circuits. Such circuits were composed of a single excitatory and inhibitory neuron and incorporated short-term plasticity of EPSPs and IPSPs and slow IPSPs. We first showed that it is possible to tune cells to respond selectively to different intervals by changing the synaptic weights of different synapses in parallel. In other words, temporal tuning can rely on long-term changes in synaptic strength and does not require changes in the time constants of the temporal properties. When the units studied in disynaptic circuits were incorporated into a larger single-layer network, the units exhibited a broad range of temporal selectivity ranging from no interval tuning to interval-selective tuning. The variability in temporal tuning relied on the variability of synaptic strengths. The network as a whole contained a robust population code for a wide range of intervals. Importantly, the same network was able to discriminate simple temporal sequences. These results argue that neural circuits are intrinsically able to process temporal information on the time scale of tens to hundreds of milliseconds and that specialized mechanisms, such as delay lines or oscillators, may not be necessary.  (+info)