Transfer of thalamocortical and its control by GABAergic mechanisms in the adolescent mouse cerebral cortex in vitro

感觉信息被编码在皮质和皮质下区域的分布式神经元组件中。为了研究GABA能中间神经元在这种神经元组合的形成和繁殖中的作用，我们将使用共聚焦钙成像、全细胞膜片钳和高密度多电极阵列(HD-MEA)记录来分析刺激丘脑腹侧基底核后协同神经元的时空模式。部分实验将在GAD67启动子的控制下在表达GFP的动物身上进行，以便能够识别GABA能中间神经元。共聚焦钙成像将被用来表征刺激诱导的神经元集合的空间域及其对刺激特征的依赖。以神经元对刺激诱导组装的贡献和/或其神经递质表型为特征的靶向膜片钳记录将被用于识别组装形成过程中的突触过程，并选择性地从神经元组装中添加/移除GABA能中间神经元。此外，还将利用对GABA能神经传递的药物干扰来分析抑制如何有助于组装形成和繁殖。HD-MEA记录将提供施加特定刺激后发生的尖峰模式，允许分析导致神经元组装形成的动态过程。这些实验的结果将有助于我们理解感觉信息在神经系统中是如何编码和处理的。

Sensory information is encoded in distributed neuronal assemblies in cortical and subcortical areas. To investigate the role of GABAergic interneurons in the formation and propagation of such neuronal assemblies we will use confocal Ca2+ imaging, whole-cell patch clamp and high-densitiy multi electrode array (HD-MEA) recordings to analyse spatiotemporal patterns of coactive neurons after stimulation of the ventrobasal thalamus in an in vitro slice preparation of the mouse barrel cortex. Part of the experiments will be performed in animals expressing GFP under the control of the GAD67 promotor to enable identification of GABAergic interneurons. Confocal Ca2+ imaging will be used to characterize the spatial domain of stimulus-induced neuronal assemblies and their dependence on stimulus features. Targeted patch-clamp recordings from neurons characterized by their contribution to stimulus-induced assemblies and/or their neurotransmitter phenotype will be used to identify the synaptic processes during assembly formation and to selectively add/remove GABAergic interneurons from neuronal assemblies. In addition, pharmacological interference with GABAergic neurotransmission will be used to analyze how inhibition contributes to assembly formation and propagation. HD-MEA recordings will deliver the spike pattern occurring after application of a specific stimulus, allowing the analysis of the dynamic processes leading to the formation of neuronal assemblies. The results of these experiments will contribute to our understanding how sensory information is encoded and processed in nervous systems.