Complementary inhibitory receptive fields emerge from synaptic plasticity and create an attentional switch in sensory circuits

Cortical areas comprise multiple types of inhibitory interneurons with stereotypical connectivity motifs, but the combined effect of different inhibitory connectivity patterns on postsynaptic dynamics has been largely unexplored. Here, we analyse the response of a single postsynaptic neuron receiving tuned excitatory connections that are balanced by various combinations of inhibitory input profiles. Inhibitory tuning can be flat, share the same tuning preference as the excitation or, alternatively, it can feature counter-tuning such that non-preferred excitatory inputs receive large inhibition. When all inhibitory populations are active, the net inhibitory effect is the same regardless of the tuning profile. By modulating the activity of specific inhibitory populations, strongly correlated responses to preferred or non-preferred inputs, as well as uncorrelated responses emerge. Moreover, biologically inspired inhibitory plasticity rules produce the necessary connectivity profiles, indicating how plasticity rules in various cell types can interact to shape cortical circuit motifs and their dynamics.