Local Control of Postinhibitory Rebound Spiking in CA1 Pyramidal Neuron Dendrites

Postinhibitory rebound spiking is characteristic of several neuron types and brain regions, where it sustains spontaneous activity and central pattern generation. However, rebound spikes are rarely observed in the principal cells of the hippocampus under physiological conditions. We report that CA1 pyramidal neurons support rebound spikes mediated by hyperpolarization-activated inward current (Ih), and normally masked by A-type potassium channels (KA). In both experiments and computational models, KA blockage or reduction consistently resulted in a somatic action potential upon release from hyperpolarizing injections in the soma or main apical dendrite. Rebound spiking was systematically abolished by the additional blockage or reduction of Ih. Since the density of both KA and Ih increases in these cells with the distance from the soma, such “latent” mechanism may be most effective in the distal dendrites, which are targeted by a variety of GABAergic interneurons. Detailed computer simulations, validated against the experimental data, demonstrate that rebound spiking can result from activation of distal inhibitory synapses. In particular, partial KA reduction confined to one or few branches of the apical tuft may be sufficient to elicit a local spike following a train of synaptic inhibition. Moreover, the spatial extent and amount of KA reduction determines whether the dendritic spike propagates to the soma. These data suggest that the plastic regulation of KA can provide a dynamic switch to unmask postinhibitory spiking in CA1 pyramidal neurons. This newly discovered local modulation of postinhibitory spiking further increases the signal processing power of the CA1 synaptic microcircuitry.