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Excitatory Microcircuits within Superficial Layers of the Medial Entorhinal Cortex

Authors :
Jochen Winterer
Nikolaus Maier
Christian Wozny
Prateep Beed
Jörg Breustedt
Roberta Evangelista
Yangfan Peng
Tiziano D’Albis
Richard Kempter
Dietmar Schmitz
Source :
Cell Reports, Vol 19, Iss 6, Pp 1110-1116 (2017)
Publication Year :
2017
Publisher :
Elsevier, 2017.

Abstract

The distinctive firing pattern of grid cells in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) supports its role in the representation of space. It is widely believed that the hexagonal firing field of grid cells emerges from neural dynamics that depend on the local microcircuitry. However, local networks within the MEC are still not sufficiently characterized. Here, applying up to eight simultaneous whole-cell recordings in acute brain slices, we demonstrate the existence of unitary excitatory connections between principal neurons in the superficial layers of the MEC. In particular, we find prevalent feed-forward excitation from pyramidal neurons in layer III and layer II onto stellate cells in layer II, which might contribute to the generation or the inheritance of grid cell patterns.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
22111247
Volume :
19
Issue :
6
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Cell Reports
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.4956e29ce7849e19def389be61a8617
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2017.04.041