Plasticity of Response Properties of Mouse Visual Cortex Neurons Induced by Optogenetic Tetanization In Vivo.

Heterosynaptic plasticity, along with Hebbian homosynaptic plasticity, is an important mechanism ensuring the stable operation of learning neuronal networks. However, whether heterosynaptic plasticity occurs in the whole brain in vivo, and what role(s) in brain function in vivo it could play, remains unclear. Here, we used an optogenetics approach to apply a model of intracellular tetanization, which was established and employed to study heterosynaptic plasticity in brain slices, to study the plasticity of response properties of neurons in the mouse visual cortex in vivo. We show that optogenetically evoked high-frequency bursts of action potentials (optogenetic tetanization) in the principal neurons of the visual cortex induce long-term changes in the responses to visual stimuli. Optogenetic tetanization had distinct effects on responses to different stimuli, as follows: responses to optimal and orthogonal orientations decreased, responses to null direction did not change, and responses to oblique orientations increased. As a result, direction selectivity of the neurons decreased and orientation tuning became broader. Since optogenetic tetanization was a postsynaptic protocol, applied in the absence of sensory stimulation, and, thus, without association of presynaptic activity with bursts of action potentials, the observed changes were mediated by mechanisms of heterosynaptic plasticity. We conclude that heterosynaptic plasticity can be induced in vivo and propose that it may play important homeostatic roles in operation of neural networks by helping to prevent runaway dynamics of responses to visual stimuli and to keep the tuning of neuronal responses within the range optimized for the encoding of multiple features in population activity.

Paired optogenetic and visual stimulation can change the orientation selectivity of visual cortex neurons.

Synaptic plasticity is currently considered the main mechanism underlying the plastic modification of neural networks. The vast majority of studies of synaptic plasticity are carried out on reduced preparations, but the situation in vivo is fundamentally different from that in vitro. In this work, we used the Hebbian paradigm, which is known to induce long-term changes in synaptic strength in vitro, to manipulate the properties of a single pyramidal neuron in the mouse visual cortex. We have shown that optogenetic stimulation of a ChR2-expressing pyramidal neuron in the primary visual cortex of Thy-ChR2 mice paired with the presentation of a visual stimulus of non-optimal orientation induces long-term changes in the properties of the receptive field, manifested in alteration of the orientation selectivity of the cell. Non-paired stimulation did not lead to changes in the properties of the receptive field of the neuron during the experiment. Thus, we have demonstrated the role of associative plasticity in the dynamic organization of the receptive fields of neurons in the visual cortex.

Altered Heterosynaptic Plasticity Impairs Visual Discrimination Learning in Adenosine A1 Receptor Knock-Out Mice.

Theoretical and modeling studies demonstrate that heterosynaptic plasticity-changes at synapses inactive during induction-facilitates fine-grained discriminative learning in Hebbian-type systems, and helps to achieve a robust ability for repetitive learning. A dearth of tools for selective manipulation has hindered experimental analysis of the proposed role of heterosynaptic plasticity in behavior. Here we circumvent this obstacle by testing specific predictions about the behavioral consequences of the impairment of heterosynaptic plasticity by experimental manipulations to adenosine A1 receptors (A1Rs). Our prior work demonstrated that the blockade of adenosine A1 receptors impairs heterosynaptic plasticity in brain slices and, when implemented in computer models, selectively impairs repetitive learning on sequential tasks. Based on this work, we predict that A1R knock-out (KO) mice will express (1) impairment of heterosynaptic plasticity and (2) behavioral deficits in learning on sequential tasks. Using electrophysiological experiments in slices and behavioral testing of animals of both sexes, we show that, compared with wild-type controls, A1R KO mice have impaired synaptic plasticity in visual cortex neurons, coupled with significant deficits in visual discrimination learning. Deficits in A1R knockouts were seen specifically during relearning, becoming progressively more apparent with learning on sequential visual discrimination tasks of increasing complexity. These behavioral results confirm our model predictions and provide the first experimental evidence for a proposed role of heterosynaptic plasticity in organism-level learning. Moreover, these results identify heterosynaptic plasticity as a new potential target for interventions that may help to enhance new learning on a background of existing memories.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Understanding how interacting forms of synaptic plasticity mediate learning is fundamental for neuroscience. Theory and modeling revealed that, in addition to Hebbian-type associative plasticity, heterosynaptic changes at synapses that were not active during induction are necessary for stable system operation and fine-grained discrimination learning. However, lacking tools for selective manipulation prevented behavioral analysis of heterosynaptic plasticity. Here we circumvent this barrier: from our prior experimental and computational work we predict differential behavioral consequences of the impairment of Hebbian-type versus heterosynaptic plasticity. We show that, in adenosine A1 receptor knock-out mice, impaired synaptic plasticity in visual cortex neurons is coupled with specific deficits in learning sequential, increasingly complex visual discrimination tasks. This provides the first evidence linking heterosynaptic plasticity to organism-level learning.

Cationic Channelrhodopsin from the Alga Platymonas subcordiformis as a Promising Optogenetic Tool.

The progress in optogenetics largely depends on the development of light-activated proteins as new molecular tools. Using cultured hippocampal neurons, we compared the properties of two light-activated cation channels - classical channelrhodopsin-2 from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (CrChR2) and recently described channelrhodopsin isolated from the alga Platymonas subcordiformis (PsChR2). PsChR2 ensured generation of action potentials by neurons when activated by the pulsed light stimulation with the frequencies up to 40-50 Hz, while the upper limit for CrChR2 was 20-30 Hz. An important advantage of PsChR2 compared to classical channelrhodopsin CrChR2 is the blue shift of its excitation spectrum, which opens the possibility for its application in all-optical electrophysiology experiments that require the separation of the maxima of the spectra of channelrhodopsins used for the stimulation of neurons and the maxima of the excitation spectra of various red fluorescent probes. We compared the response (generation of action potentials) of neurons expressing CrChR2 and PsChR2 to light stimuli at 530 and 550 nm commonly used for the excitation of red fluorescent probes. The 530-nm light was significantly (3.7 times) less efficient in the activation of neurons expressing PsChR2 vs. CrChR2-expressing neurons. The light at 550 nm, even at the maximal used intensity, failed to stimulate neurons expressing either of the studied opsins. This indicates that the PsChR2 channelrhodopsin from the alga P. subcordiformis is a promising optogenetic tool, both in terms of its frequency characteristics and possibility of its application for neuronal stimulation with a short-wavelength (blue, 470 nm) light accompanied by simultaneous recording of various physiological processes using fluorescent probes.

Distinct Heterosynaptic Plasticity in Fast Spiking and Non-Fast-Spiking Inhibitory Neurons in Rat Visual Cortex.

Inhibition in neuronal networks of the neocortex serves a multitude of functions, such as balancing excitation and structuring neuronal activity in space and time. Plasticity of inhibition is mediated by changes at both inhibitory synapses, as well as excitatory synapses on inhibitory neurons. Using slices from visual cortex of young male rats, we describe a novel form of plasticity of excitatory synapses on inhibitory neurons, weight-dependent heterosynaptic plasticity. Recordings from connected pyramid-to-interneuron pairs confirm that postsynaptic activity alone can induce long-term changes at synapses that were not presynaptically active during the induction, i.e., heterosynaptic plasticity. Moreover, heterosynaptic changes can accompany homosynaptic plasticity induced in inhibitory neurons by conventional spike-timing-dependent plasticity protocols. In both fast-spiking (FS) and non-FS neurons, heterosynaptic changes were weight-dependent, because they correlated with initial paired-pulse ratio (PPR), indicative of initial strength of a synapse. Synapses with initially high PPR, indicative of low release probability ("weak" synapses), had the tendency to be potentiated, while synapses with low initial PPR ("strong" synapses) tended to depress or did not change. Interestingly, the net outcome of heterosynaptic changes was different in FS and non-FS neurons. FS neurons expressed balanced changes, with gross average (n = 142) not different from control. Non-FS neurons (n = 66) exhibited net potentiation. This difference could be because of higher initial PPR in the non-FS neurons. We propose that weight-dependent heterosynaptic plasticity may counteract runaway dynamics of excitatory inputs imposed by Hebbian-type learning rules and contribute to fine-tuning of distinct aspects of inhibitory function mediated by FS and non-FS neurons in neocortical networks.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Dynamic balance of excitation and inhibition is fundamental for operation of neuronal networks. Fine-tuning of such balance requires synaptic plasticity. Knowledge about diverse forms of plasticity operating in excitatory and inhibitory neurons is necessary for understanding normal function and causes of dysfunction of the nervous system. Here we show that excitatory inputs to major archetypal classes of neocortical inhibitory neurons, fast-spiking (FS) and non-fast-spiking (non-FS), express a novel type of plasticity, weight-dependent heterosynaptic plasticity, which accompanies the induction of Hebbian-type changes. This novel form of plasticity may counteract runaway dynamics at excitatory synapses to inhibitory neurons imposed by Hebbian-type learning rules and contribute to fine-tuning of diverse aspects of inhibitory function mediated by FS and non-FS neurons in neocortical networks.

Sodium action potentials in placozoa: Insights into behavioral integration and evolution of nerveless animals.

Placozoa are small disc-shaped animals, representing the simplest known, possibly ancestral, organization of free-living animals. With only six morphological distinct cell types, without any recognized neurons or muscle, placozoans exhibit fast effector reactions and complex behaviors. However, little is known about electrogenic mechanisms in these animals. Here, we showed the presence of rapid action potentials in four species of placozoans (Trichoplax adhaerens [H1 haplotype], Trichoplax sp.[H2], Hoilungia hongkongensis [H13], and Hoilungia sp. [H4]). These action potentials are sodium-dependent and can be inducible. The molecular analysis suggests the presence of 5-7 different types of voltage-gated sodium channels, which showed substantial evolutionary radiation compared to many other metazoans. Such unexpected diversity of sodium channels in early-branched metazoan lineages reflect both duplication events and parallel evolution of unique behavioral integration in these nerveless animals.

Enhanced Non-Associative Long-Term Potentiation in Immature Granule Cells in the Dentate Gyrus of Adult Rats.

The dentate gyrus is one of the few sites of neurogenesis in the adult brain. Integration of new-generated granule cells into the hippocampal circuitry provides a substrate for structural plasticity, fundamental for normal function of adult hippocampus. However, mechanisms of synaptic plasticity that mediate integration of new-generated granule cells into the existing circuitry remain poorly understood. Especially mechanisms of plasticity at GABA-ergic synapses remain elusive. Here, we show that postsynaptic spiking without presynaptic activation can induce heterosynaptic, non-associative plasticity at GABA-ergic inputs to both immature and mature granule cells. In both immature and mature neurons, plastic changes were bidirectional and individual inputs could express long-term potentiation (LTP) or long-term depression (LTD), or do not change. However, properties of non-associative plasticity dramatically change with maturation of newly generated granule cells: while in immature cells there was a clear predominance of non-associative LTP and net potentiation across the inputs, in mature neurons, potentiation and depression were balanced with no net change on average. We conclude that GABA-ergic inputs to granule cells are plastic, and that the rules for induction of non-associative plasticity change with maturation. We propose that potentiation-biased non-associative plasticity of GABA-ergic transmission might help to counter-balance an increase of excitatory drive that is facilitated by enhanced LTP at glutamatergic synapses in maturating granule cells. Such mechanism might help to build a strong GABA-ergic input to surviving active new cells, necessary for normal function of mature granule cells, which operate under a tight inhibitory control and generate sparse spiking activity.