Targeted Activation of Hippocampal Place Cells Drives Memory-Guided Spatial Behavior.

The hippocampus is crucial for spatial navigation and episodic memory formation. Hippocampal place cells exhibit spatially selective activity within an environment and have been proposed to form the neural basis of a cognitive map of space that supports these mnemonic functions. However, the direct influence of place cell activity on spatial navigation behavior has not yet been demonstrated. Using an 'all-optical' combination of simultaneous two-photon calcium imaging and two-photon optogenetics, we identified and selectively activated place cells that encoded behaviorally relevant locations in a virtual reality environment. Targeted stimulation of a small number of place cells was sufficient to bias the behavior of animals during a spatial memory task, providing causal evidence that hippocampal place cells actively support spatial navigation and memory.

Loss of Bardet-Biedl syndrome proteins causes synaptic aberrations in principal neurons.

Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), a ciliopathy, is a rare genetic condition characterised by retinal degeneration, obesity, kidney failure, and cognitive impairment. In spite of progress made in our general understanding of BBS aetiology, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment in BBS remain elusive. Here, we report that the loss of BBS proteins causes synaptic dysfunction in principal neurons, providing a possible explanation for the cognitive impairment phenotype observed in BBS patients. Using synaptosomal proteomics and immunocytochemistry, we demonstrate the presence of Bbs proteins in the postsynaptic density (PSD) of hippocampal neurons. Loss of Bbs results in a significant reduction of dendritic spines in principal neurons of Bbs mouse models. Furthermore, we show that spine deficiency correlates with events that destabilise spine architecture, such as impaired spine membrane receptor signalling, known to be involved in the maintenance of dendritic spines. Our findings suggest a role for BBS proteins in dendritic spine homeostasis that may be linked to the cognitive phenotype observed in BBS.

Correction: Loss of Bardet-Biedl syndrome proteins causes synaptic aberrations in principal neurons.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000414.].

Neuropathological changes in the TASTPM mouse model of Alzheimer's disease and their relation to hyperexcitability and cortical spreading depolarization.

Although Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by distinct pathological changes, their precise impact on cortical functions are not well understood. Here we used TASTPM mice as an AD model and asked whether the development of neurodegenerative changes has an impact on the extracellular space (ECS) and neuronal excitability, in particular cortical spreading depolarization (CSD) which requires intact neuron and glial functions. We studied wildtype (WT) and TASTPM mice (3, 6, and 12 months old). TASTPM mice showed progressive proliferation of neocortical Amyloid-beta (Aß) plaques between 3 and 12 months (more deposits in females than in males) and Aß accumulation in cortical vessels. As plaques proliferated, neuroinflammatory microglial reaction (CD68, CD39 and Galectin-3) and astrogliosis (GFAP) developed progressively. The cortical ECS volume shrank significantly to about half the size of the WT. CSD in both WT and TASTPM mice showed considerable heterogeneity but did not correlate with the histological changes. However, CSDs were easier to elicit in TASTPM than in WT mice at 3 months, and also compared to older TASTPM mice. Moreover, TASTPM mice showed more hyperexcitability manifested as clonic-tonic behavior after sodium thiopental anesthesia. Thus, AD pathology was associated with abnormal hyperexcitability but did not homogenously alter CSD susceptibility.

A synaptic signal for novelty processing in the hippocampus.

Episodic memory formation and recall are complementary processes that rely on opposing neuronal computations in the hippocampus. How this conflict is resolved in hippocampal circuits is unclear. To address this question, we obtained in vivo whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from dentate gyrus granule cells in head-fixed mice trained to explore and distinguish between familiar and novel virtual environments. We find that granule cells consistently show a small transient depolarisation upon transition to a novel environment. This synaptic novelty signal is sensitive to local application of atropine, indicating that it depends on metabotropic acetylcholine receptors. A computational model suggests that the synaptic response to novelty may bias granule cell population activity, which can drive downstream attractor networks to a new state, favouring the switch from recall to new memory formation when faced with novelty. Such a novelty-driven switch may enable flexible encoding of new memories while preserving stable retrieval of familiar ones.

Fast sodium channel gating supports localized and efficient axonal action potential initiation.

Action potentials (APs) are initiated in the proximal axon of most neurons. In myelinated axons, a 50-times higher sodium channel density in the initial segment compared to the soma may account for this phenomenon. However, little is known about sodium channel density and gating in proximal unmyelinated axons. To study the mechanisms underlying AP initiation in unmyelinated hippocampal mossy fibers of adult mice, we recorded sodium currents in axonal and somatic membrane patches. We demonstrate that sodium channel density in the proximal axon is approximately 5 times higher than in the soma. Furthermore, sodium channel activation and inactivation are approximately 2 times faster. Modeling revealed that the fast activation localized the initiation site to the proximal axon even upon strong synaptic stimulation, while fast inactivation contributed to energy-efficient membrane charging during APs. Thus, sodium channel gating and density in unmyelinated mossy fiber axons appear to be specialized for robust AP initiation and propagation with minimal current flow.

Inhibitory control of synaptic signals preceding locomotion in mouse frontal cortex.

The frontal cortex is essential for organizing voluntary movement. The secondary motor cortex (MOs) is a frontal subregion thought to integrate internal and external inputs before motor action. However, how excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs to MOs neurons are integrated preceding movement remains unclear. Here, we address this question by performing in vivo whole-cell recordings from MOs neurons of head-fixed mice moving on a treadmill. We find that principal neurons produce slowly increasing membrane potential and spike ramps preceding spontaneous running. After goal-directed training, ramps show larger amplitudes and accelerated kinetics. Chemogenetic suppression of interneurons combined with modeling suggests that the interplay between parvalbumin-positive (PV+) and somatostatin-positive (SOM+) interneurons, along with principal neuron recurrent connectivity, shape ramping signals. Plasticity of excitatory synapses on SOM+ interneurons can explain the ramp acceleration after training. Altogether, our data reveal that local interneurons differentially control task-dependent ramping signals when MOs neurons integrate inputs preceding movement.

Enhanced synaptic plasticity in newly generated granule cells of the adult hippocampus.

Neural stem cells in various regions of the vertebrate brain continuously generate neurons throughout life. In the mammalian hippocampus, a region important for spatial and episodic memory, thousands of new granule cells are produced per day, with the exact number depending on environmental conditions and physical exercise. The survival of these neurons is improved by learning and conversely learning may be promoted by neurogenesis. Although it has been suggested that newly generated neurons may have specific properties to facilitate learning, the cellular and synaptic mechanisms of plasticity in these neurons are largely unknown. Here we show that young granule cells in the adult hippocampus differ substantially from mature granule cells in both active and passive membrane properties. In young neurons, T-type Ca2+ channels can generate isolated Ca2+ spikes and boost fast Na+ action potentials, contributing to the induction of synaptic plasticity. Associative long-term potentiation can be induced more easily in young neurons than in mature neurons under identical conditions. Thus, newly generated neurons express unique mechanisms to facilitate synaptic plasticity, which may be important for the formation of new memories.

Differential Relation between Neuronal and Behavioral Discrimination during Hippocampal Memory Encoding.

How are distinct memories formed and used for behavior? To relate neuronal and behavioral discrimination during memory formation, we use in vivo 2-photon Ca2+ imaging and whole-cell recordings from hippocampal subregions in head-fixed mice performing a spatial virtual reality task. We find that subthreshold activity as well as population codes of dentate gyrus neurons robustly discriminate across different spatial environments, whereas neuronal remapping in CA1 depends on the degree of difference between visual cues. Moreover, neuronal discrimination in CA1, but not in the dentate gyrus, reflects behavioral performance. Our results suggest that CA1 weights the decorrelated information from the dentate gyrus according to its relevance, producing a map of memory representations that can be used by downstream circuits to guide learning and behavior.

Subthreshold dendritic signal processing and coincidence detection in dentate gyrus granule cells.

Although dendritic signal processing has been extensively investigated in hippocampal pyramidal cells, only little is known about dendritic integration of synaptic potentials in dentate gyrus granule cells, the first stage in the hippocampal trisynaptic circuit. Here we combined dual whole-cell patch-clamp recordings with high-resolution two-photon microscopy to obtain detailed passive cable models of hippocampal granule cells from adult mice. Passive cable properties were determined by direct fitting of the compartmental model to the experimentally measured voltage responses to short and long current pulses. The data are best fit by a cable model with homogenously distributed parameters, including an average specific membrane resistance (R(m)) of 38.0 kohms cm2, a membrane capacitance (C(m)) of 1.0 microF cm(-2), and an intracellular resistivity (R(i)) of 194 ohms cm. Computational analysis shows that signal propagation from somata into dendrites is more efficient in granule cells compared with CA1 pyramidal cells for both steady-state and sinusoidal voltage waveforms up to the gamma frequency range (f50% of 74 Hz). Similarly, distal synaptic inputs from entorhinal fibers can efficiently depolarize the somatic membrane of granule cells. Furthermore, the time course of distal dendritic synaptic potentials is remarkably fast, and temporal summation is restricted to a narrow time window in the range of approximately 10 ms attributable to the rapid dendritic charge redistribution during transient voltage signals. Therefore, the structure of the granule cell dendritic tree may be critically important for precise dendritic signal processing and coincidence detection during hippocampus-dependent memory formation and retrieval.

Action potential initiation and propagation in hippocampal mossy fibre axons.

Dentate gyrus granule cells transmit action potentials (APs) along their unmyelinated mossy fibre axons to the CA3 region. Although the initiation and propagation of APs are fundamental steps during neural computation, little is known about the site of AP initiation and the speed of propagation in mossy fibre axons. To address these questions, we performed simultaneous somatic and axonal whole-cell recordings from granule cells in acute hippocampal slices of adult mice at approximately 23 degrees C. Injection of short current pulses or synaptic stimulation evoked axonal and somatic APs with similar amplitudes. By contrast, the time course was significantly different, as axonal APs had a higher maximal rate of rise (464 +/- 30 V s(-1) in the axon versus 297 +/- 12 V s(-1) in the soma, mean +/- s.e.m.). Furthermore, analysis of latencies between the axonal and somatic signals showed that APs were initiated in the proximal axon at approximately 20-30 mum distance from the soma, and propagated orthodromically with a velocity of 0.24 m s(-1). Qualitatively similar results were obtained at a recording temperature of approximately 34 degrees C. Modelling of AP propagation in detailed cable models of granule cells suggested that a approximately 4 times higher Na(+) channel density ( approximately 1000 pS mum(-2)) in the axon might account for both the higher rate of rise of axonal APs and the robust AP initiation in the proximal mossy fibre axon. This may be of critical importance to separate dendritic integration of thousands of synaptic inputs from the generation and transmission of a common AP output.

Differential dendritic Ca2+ signalling in young and mature hippocampal granule cells.

Neuronal activity is critically important for development and plasticity of dendrites, axons and synaptic connections. Although Ca(2+) is an important signal molecule for these processes, not much is known about the regulation of the dendritic Ca(2+) concentration in developing neurons. Here we used confocal Ca(2+) imaging to investigate dendritic Ca(2+) signalling in young and mature hippocampal granule cells, identified by the expression of the immature neuronal marker polysialated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM). Using the Ca(2+)-sensitive fluorescent dye OGB-5N, we found that both young and mature granule cells showed large action-potential evoked dendritic Ca(2+) transients with similar amplitude of approximately 200 nm, indicating active backpropagation of action potentials. However, the decay of the dendritic Ca(2+) concentration back to baseline values was substantially different with a decay time constant of 550 ms in young versus 130 ms in mature cells, leading to a more efficient temporal summation of Ca(2+) signals during theta-frequency stimulation in the young neurons. Comparison of the peak Ca(2+) concentration and the decay measured with different Ca(2+) indicators (OGB-5N, OGB-1) in the two populations of neurons revealed that the young cells had an approximately 3 times smaller endogenous Ca(2+)-binding ratio ( approximately 75 versus approximately 220) and an approximately 10 times slower Ca(2+) extrusion rate ( approximately 170 s(-1) versus approximately 1800 s(-1)). These data suggest that the large dendritic Ca(2+) signals due to low buffer capacity and slow extrusion rates in young granule cells may contribute to the activity-dependent growth and plasticity of dendrites and new synaptic connections. This will finally support differentiation and integration of young neurons into the hippocampal network.

Synaptic integrative mechanisms for spatial cognition.

Synaptic integrative mechanisms have profound effects on electrical signaling in the brain that, although largely hidden from recording methods that observe the spiking activity of neurons, may be critical for the encoding, storage and retrieval of information. Here we review roles for synaptic integrative mechanisms in the selection, generation and plasticity of place and grid fields, and in related temporal codes for the representation of space. We outline outstanding questions and challenges in the testing of hypothesized models for spatial computation and memory.

NKX2-1 Is Required in the Embryonic Septum for Cholinergic System Development, Learning, and Memory.

The transcription factor NKX2-1 is best known for its role in the specification of subsets of cortical, striatal, and pallidal neurons. We demonstrate through genetic fate mapping and intersectional focal septal deletion that NKX2-1 is selectively required in the embryonic septal neuroepithelium for the development of cholinergic septohippocampal projection neurons and large subsets of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons. In the absence of NKX2-1, these neurons fail to develop, causing alterations in hippocampal theta rhythms and severe deficiencies in learning and memory. Our results demonstrate that learning and memory are dependent on NKX2-1 function in the embryonic septum and suggest that cognitive deficiencies that are sometimes associated with pathogenic mutations in NKX2-1 in humans may be a direct consequence of loss of NKX2-1 function.

Active dendritic integration as a mechanism for robust and precise grid cell firing.

Understanding how active dendrites are exploited for behaviorally relevant computations is a fundamental challenge in neuroscience. Grid cells in medial entorhinal cortex are an attractive model system for addressing this question, as the computation they perform is clear: they convert synaptic inputs into spatially modulated, periodic firing. Whether active dendrites contribute to the generation of the dual temporal and rate codes characteristic of grid cell output is unknown. We show that dendrites of medial entorhinal cortex neurons are highly excitable and exhibit a supralinear input-output function in vitro, while in vivo recordings reveal membrane potential signatures consistent with recruitment of active dendritic conductances. By incorporating these nonlinear dynamics into grid cell models, we show that they can sharpen the precision of the temporal code and enhance the robustness of the rate code, thereby supporting a stable, accurate representation of space under varying environmental conditions. Our results suggest that active dendrites may therefore constitute a key cellular mechanism for ensuring reliable spatial navigation.

How to build a grid cell.

Neurons in the medial entorhinal cortex fire action potentials at regular spatial intervals, creating a striking grid-like pattern of spike rates spanning the whole environment of a navigating animal. This remarkable spatial code may represent a neural map for path integration. Recent advances using patch-clamp recordings from entorhinal cortex neurons in vitro and in vivo have revealed how the microcircuitry in the medial entorhinal cortex may contribute to grid cell firing patterns, and how grid cells may transform synaptic inputs into spike output during firing field crossings. These new findings provide key insights into the ingredients necessary to build a grid cell.

Stimfit: quantifying electrophysiological data with Python.

Intracellular electrophysiological recordings provide crucial insights into elementary neuronal signals such as action potentials and synaptic currents. Analyzing and interpreting these signals is essential for a quantitative understanding of neuronal information processing, and requires both fast data visualization and ready access to complex analysis routines. To achieve this goal, we have developed Stimfit, a free software package for cellular neurophysiology with a Python scripting interface and a built-in Python shell. The program supports most standard file formats for cellular neurophysiology and other biomedical signals through the Biosig library. To quantify and interpret the activity of single neurons and communication between neurons, the program includes algorithms to characterize the kinetics of presynaptic action potentials and postsynaptic currents, estimate latencies between pre- and postsynaptic events, and detect spontaneously occurring events. We validate and benchmark these algorithms, give estimation errors, and provide sample use cases, showing that Stimfit represents an efficient, accessible and extensible way to accurately analyze and interpret neuronal signals.

Cellular mechanisms of spatial navigation in the medial entorhinal cortex.

Neurons in the medial entorhinal cortex exhibit a grid-like spatial pattern of spike rates that has been proposed to represent a neural code for path integration. To understand how grid cell firing arises from the combination of intrinsic conductances and synaptic input in medial entorhinal stellate cells, we performed patch-clamp recordings in mice navigating in a virtual-reality environment. We found that the membrane potential signature of stellate cells during firing field crossings consisted of a slow depolarization driving spike output. This was best predicted by network models in which neurons receive sustained depolarizing synaptic input during a field crossing, such as continuous attractor network models of grid cell firing. Another key feature of the data, phase precession of intracellular theta oscillations and spiking with respect to extracellular theta oscillations, was best captured by an oscillatory interference model. Thus, these findings provide crucial new information for a quantitative understanding of the cellular basis of spatial navigation in the entorhinal cortex.