Triads: a synaptic network component in the cerebral cortex

The objective of this study was to examine synaptic relationships among 3 neuronal elements in the cerebral cortex: thalamocortical afferents (TC), corticothalamic projection cells (CT), and GABAergic neurons. TC axon terminals in the barrel cortex of the mouse were labeled by lesion induced degeneration; local axon collaterals belonging to CT cells were labeled by the retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase; and GABAergic neurons were identified using immunocytochemistry. CT and GABAergic neurons form synapses with each other and both receive synapses from TC afferents. These findings indicate the existence in the cerebral cortex of a triadic circuit involving afferent input both to projection and to local inhibitory neurons, and reciprocal synaptic interactions among these neuronal populations.

[1]  A. Cowey,et al.  Vertical organization of neurones accumulating 3H-GABA in visual cortex of rhesus monkey , 1981, Nature.

[2]  B. Boycott,et al.  Organization of the primate retina: electron microscopy , 1966, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences.

[3]  E. White,et al.  Synaptic organization in the olfactory glomerulus of the mouse. , 1972, Brain research.

[4]  H. Loos.  Barreloids in mouse somatosensory thalamus , 1976, Neuroscience Letters.

[5]  J SZENTAGOTHAI,et al.  THE USE OF DEGENERATION METHODS IN THE INVESTIGATION OF SHORT NEURONAL CONNEXIONS. , 1965, Progress in brain research.

[6]  P. Sterling,et al.  Four types of neuron in layer IVab of cat cortical area 17 accumulate 3H‐GABA , 1983, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[7]  G. Shepherd.  The Synaptic Organization of the Brain , 1979 .

[8]  J. E. Vaughn,et al.  Synaptic organization of immunocytochemically identified GABA neurons in the monkey sensory-motor cortex , 1983, Journal of neurocytology.

[9]  R. Sidman,et al.  Atlas of the Mouse Brain and Spinal Cord , 1971 .

[10]  A Keller,et al.  Synaptic organization of GABAergic neurons in the mouse SmI cortex , 1987, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[11]  D. Ferster,et al.  An intracellular analysis of geniculo‐cortical connectivity in area 17 of the cat. , 1983, The Journal of physiology.

[12]  E. V. Famiglietti,et al.  Dendro-dendritic synapses in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat. , 1970, Brain research.

[13]  E. White.  Cortical Circuits: Synaptic Organization of the Cerebral Cortex , 1989 .

[14]  J. Dowling,et al.  Synaptic organization of the frog retina: an electron microscopic analysis comparing the retinas of frogs and primates , 1968, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences.

[15]  E. White,et al.  Synaptic organization of the mammalian olfactory glomerulus: new findings including an intraspecific variation. , 1973, Brain research.

[16]  J. E. Vaughn,et al.  GABA Neurons in the Cerebral Cortex , 1984 .

[17]  H. Ralston,et al.  The fine structure of neurons and synapses in the ventrobasal thalamus of the cat , 1969 .

[18]  M. Stewart,et al.  γ-Aminobutyric acid immunoreactivity in mouse barrel field: a light microscopical study , 1986, Brain Research.

[19]  E. White,et al.  Intrinsic circuitry involving the local axon collaterals of corticothalamic projection cells in mouse SmI cortex , 1987, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[20]  C. Lin,et al.  Glutamic acid decarboxylase immunoreactivity in layer IV of barrel cortex of rat and mouse , 1985, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[21]  E. White.  Termination of Thalamic Afferents in the Cerebral Cortex , 1986 .

[22]  A. Kriegstein,et al.  Synaptic responses of cortical pyramidal neurons to light stimulation in the isolated turtle visual system , 1987, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[23]  M. Stewart,et al.  γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) immunoreactivity in mouse and rat first somatosensory (SI) cortex: description and comparison , 1988, Brain Research.

[24]  M. Deschenes,et al.  Cortical interneurons during sleep and waking in freely moving primates. , 1973, Brain research.

[25]  E. White,et al.  Distribution of glutamic acid decarboxylase-immunoreactive structures in the barrel region of mouse somatosensory cortex , 1986, Neuroscience Letters.

[26]  P. Andersen,et al.  Cortico-fugal facilitation of thalamic transmission. , 1972, Brain, behavior and evolution.

[27]  T. Morrow,et al.  Corticofugal influences of S1 cortex on ventrobasal thalamic neurons in the awake rat , 1986, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[28]  E. White,et al.  A quantitative study of thalamocortical and other synapses involving the apical dendrites of corticothalamic projection cells in mouse SmI cortex , 1982, Journal of neurocytology.

[29]  E. White,et al.  Synaptic sequences in mouse SmI cortex involving pyramidal cells labeled by retrograde filling with horseradish peroxidase , 1980, Neuroscience Letters.

[30]  E. V. Famiglietti,et al.  The synaptic glomerulus and the intrinsic neuron in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat , 1972, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[31]  E. White,et al.  Thalamocortical and other synapses involving nonspiny multipolar cells of mouse SmI cortex , 1984, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[32]  T. Morrow,et al.  Responsiveness of ventrobasal thalamic neurons after suppression of S1 cortex in the anesthetized rat , 1985, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[33]  R. Lund.  Synaptic patterns of the superficial layers of the superior colliculus of the rat , 1969, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[34]  S. Hsu,et al.  Use of avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) in immunoperoxidase techniques: a comparison between ABC and unlabeled antibody (PAP) procedures. , 1981, The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry : official journal of the Histochemistry Society.

[35]  D. Whitteridge,et al.  Connections between pyramidal neurons in layer 5 of cat visual cortex (area 17) , 1987, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[36]  T. Powell,et al.  The cortical projection of the ventroposterior nucleus of the thalamus in the cat. , 1969, Brain research.

[37]  T. Wiesel,et al.  Patterns of synaptic input to layer 4 of cat striate cortex , 1984, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[38]  A. Cowey,et al.  Retrograde transport of gamma-amino[3H]butyric acid reveals specific interlaminar connections in the striate cortex of monkey. , 1983, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[39]  J. Adams.  Heavy metal intensification of DAB-based HRP reaction product. , 1981, The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry : official journal of the Histochemistry Society.

[40]  C. Sotelo,et al.  Ultrastructural features of the isolated suprasylvian gyrus in the cat , 1974, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[41]  E. Welker,et al.  GABAergic neurons in the barrel cortex of the mouse: An analysis using neuronal archetypes , 1987, Journal of neurocytology.

[42]  T. Powell,et al.  The neuropil of the glomeruli of the olfactory bulb. , 1971, Journal of cell science.

[43]  E. G. Jones,et al.  Vertical organization of gamma-aminobutyric acid-accumulating intrinsic neuronal systems in monkey cerebral cortex , 1985, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.