Interneurons are the source and the targets of the first synapses formed in the rat developing hippocampal circuit.

Free Full Text : http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/13/6/684?view=long&pmid=12764045International audienceIn hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons, GABAergic synapses are established before glutamatergic synapses. GABAergic interneurons should therefore develop and acquire synapses at an earlier stage to provide the source for GABAergic synapses. We now report that this is indeed the case. At birth and in utero, when nearly all pyramidal neurons are not yet functional, most interneurons have already either GABAergic only or GABAergic and glutamatergic postsynaptic currents. At birth, the morphological maturation of interneurons parallels their individual functional responses. In addition, the formation of functional interneurons types appears to be a sequential process. Interneurons that innervate other interneurons acquire GABA(A) synapses before peridendritic interneurons, but also before perisomatic interneurons that are not yet functional at birth. Therefore, interneurons are the source and the targets of the first synapses formed in the developing circuit. Since GABA was shown to be excitatory in utero, interneurons provide all the excitatory drive at a time when the principal cells are silent. They could therefore play a central role in the formation of the cortical circuit at early developmental stages

Interneurons set the tune of developing networks.

International audienceDespite a rather long migratory journey, interneurons are functional before vertically migrating pyramidal neurons and they constitute the source and target of the first functional synapses in the developing hippocampus. Interneuron-driven network patterns are already present in utero while principal cells are mostly quiescent. At that early stage, GABAergic synapses--which are formed before glutamatergic ones--are excitatory, suggesting that GABA is a pioneer, much like the neurons from which it is released. This review discusses this sequence of events, its functional significance and the role that interneurons might play in the construction of cortical networks

Morphology of CA3 non-pyramidal cells in the developing rat hippocampus.

International audienceAlthough several investigations have shown that the local GABAergic circuit in the rat hippocampus is functional very early in development, this result has not been yet completed by the investigation of the full dendritic and axonal arborization of the neonatal interneurones. In the present study, intracellular injection of biocytin was used to assess the branching pattern of interneurones in the hippocampal CA3 region of rat between 2 and 6 days of age. Based on their dendritic morphology, the biocytin-filled interneurones were divided into four classes: bipolar, stellate, pyramidal-like and fusiform interneurones. About half of the biocytin-filled neonatal interneurones exhibited dendritic or somatic filopodial processes. The axonal arbors of the filled-interneurones were widely spread into the CA3 region, and in four out of nine cases extended beyond the CA3 region to branch into the CA1 region. These results show that, despite immature features, the filopodial processes, the hippocampal interneurones are well developed early in development at a time when their target cells, the pyramidal neurones, are still developing. These observations are consistent with a trophic role that GABA may play early in development

Persistent epileptiform activity induced by low Mg2+ in intact immature brain structures.

International audienceWe have determined the properties of seizures induced in vitro during the first postnatal days using intact rat cortico-hippocampal formations (CHFs) and extracellular recordings. Two main patterns of activity were generated by nominally Mg2+-free ACSF in hippocampal and cortical regions: ictal-like events (ILEs) and late recurrent interictal discharges (LRDs). They were elicited at distinct developmental periods and displayed different pharmacological properties. ILEs were first observed in P1 CHFs 52 +/- 7 min after application of low-Mg2+ ACSF (frequency 1.5 +/- 0.3 h-1, duration 86 +/- 3 s). There is a progressive age-dependent maturation of ILEs characterized by a decrease in their onset and an increase in their frequency and duration. ILEs were abolished by d-APV and Mg2+ ions. From P7, ILEs were followed by LRDs that appeared 89 +/- 8 min after application of low-Mg2+ ACSF (frequency approximately 1 Hz, duration 0.66 s, amplitude 0.31 +/- 0.03 mV). LRDs were no longer sensitive to d-APV or Mg2+ ions and persisted for at least 24 h in low-Mg2+ or in normal ACSF. ILEs and LRDs were synchronized in limbic and cortical regions with 10-40 ms latency between the onsets of seizures. Using a double chamber that enables independent superfusion of two interconnected CHFs, we report that ILEs and LRDs generated in one CHF propagated readily to the other one that was being kept in ACSF. Therefore, at a critical period of brain development, recurrent seizures induce a permanent form of hyperactivity in intact brain structures and this preparation provides a unique opportunity to study the consequences of seizures at early developmental stages

Epileptogenic actions of GABA and fast oscillations in the developing hippocampus.

International audienceGABA excites immature neurons and inhibits adult ones, but whether this contributes to seizures in the developing brain is not known. We now report that in the developing, but not the adult, hippocampus, seizures beget seizures only if GABAergic synapses are functional. In the immature hippocampus, seizures generated with functional GABAergic synapses include fast oscillations that are required to transform a naive network to an epileptic one: blocking GABA receptors prevents the long-lasting sequels of seizures. In contrast, in adult neurons, full blockade of GABA(A) receptors generates epileptogenic high-frequency seizures. Therefore, purely glutamatergic seizures are not epileptogenic in the developing hippocampus. We suggest that the density of glutamatergic synapses is not sufficient for epileptogenesis in immature neurons; excitatory GABAergic synapses are required for that purpose. We suggest that the synergistic actions of GABA and NMDA receptors trigger the cascades involved in epileptogenesis in the developing hippocampus

Early sequential formation of functional GABA(A) and glutamatergic synapses on CA1 interneurons of the rat foetal hippocampus.

International audienceDuring postnatal development of CA1 pyramidal neurons, GABAergic synapses are excitatory and established prior to glutamatergic synapses. As interneurons are generated before pyramidal cells, we have tested the hypothesis that the GABAergic interneuronal network is operative before glutamate pyramidal neurons and provides the initial patterns of activity. We patch-clamp recorded interneurons in foetal (69 neurons) and neonatal P0 (162 neurons) hippocampal slices and performed a morphofunctional analysis of biocytin-filled neurons. At P0, three types of interneurons were found: (i) non-innervated "silent" interneurons (5%) with no spontaneous or evoked synaptic currents; (ii) G interneurons (17%) with GABA(A) synapses only; and (iii) GG interneurons with GABA and glutamatergic synapses (78%). Relying on the neuronal capacitance, cell body size and arborization of dendrites and axons, the three types of interneurons correspond to three stages of development with non-innervated neurons and interneurons with GABA(A) and glutamatergic synapses being, respectively, the least and the most developed. Recordings from both pyramidal neurons and interneurons in foetuses (E18-20) revealed that the majority of interneurons (65%) had functional synapses whereas nearly 90% of pyramidal neurons were quiescent. Therefore, interneurons follow the same GABA-glutamate sequence of synapse formation but earlier than the principal cells. Interneurons are the source and the target of the first synapses formed in the hippocampus and are thus in a position to modulate the development of the hippocampus in the foetal stage

Sleep changes induced by the local application of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine into the nodose ganglia and aortic denervation in the rat

International audienceThe effects of a bilateral microinjection of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) into the nodose ganglia and aortic denervation on the daily amounts of sleep/wake states were studied in rats. Both lesions produced an increase in paradoxical sleep and provoked the onset of paradoxical sleep episodes without slow-wave-sleep transition ("narcolepsy-like" paradoxical sleep episodes). The increase in paradoxical sleep observed after 5,7-DHT injection was more important than that of the aortic denervation. In addition, both 5,7-DHT-treated and aortic-denervated animals exhibited a delayed decrease in slow-wave sleep associated with an increase in wakefulness. These results show that the peripheral messages coming from aortic serotonergic afferent fibres to the nucleus tractus solitarius play a modulatory role in the daily expression of paradoxical sleep in rats

Contributions of AMPA and GABA(A) receptors to the induction of NMDAR-dependent LTP in CA1.

International audienceThe contributions of (+/-)-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA[A]) receptors in the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) have been studied in the CA1 region of the rat hippocampus. The results suggest that: (1) in physiological conditions, AMPARs are necessary for the induction of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)-dependent LTP since LTP cannot be elicited in the presence of the AMPAR antagonist, 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX). Although a NMDAR-dependent LTP occurs in the presence of a GABA(A) antagonist and high concentrations of divalents cations, blockade of AMPARs leads to a voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCC)-dependent LTP since its induction is blocked by nifedipine and not by APV. (2) The bicarbonate-induced GABA(A) receptor-mediated depolarizing response is not necessary in the induction of NMDAR-dependent or VDCC-dependent LTP since induction of these two types of LTP were not blocked by acetazolamide or in a nominally bicarbonate-free solution