Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Transient synapse formation between thalamic axons and subplate neurons is thought to be important in thalamocortical targeting. Shaking rat Kawasaki (SRK), having reversed cortical layering similarly observed in reeler mouse, provides an interesting model system to test this idea. The spatial and temporal pattern of excitation was investigated using optical recording with voltage-sensitive dyes in thalamocortical slice preparations from SRK. At postnatal day 0 (P0), a strong optical response was elicited within the superplate of the SRK in the cell layer corresponding to subplate in wild-type (WT) rats. By P3, this response rapidly descended into deep cortical layers comprised of layer IV cells, as identified with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine birthdating at embryonic day 17. During the first 3 postnatal days, both the subplate and cortical plate responses were present, but by P7, the subplate response was abolished. Tracing individual axons in SRK revealed that at P0-P3, a large number of thalamocortical axons reach the superplate, and by P7-P10, the ascending axons develop side branches into the lower or middle cortical layers. Synaptic currents were also demonstrated in WT subplate cells and in SRK superficial cortical cells using whole-cell recording. These currents were elicited monosynaptically, because partial AMPA current blockade did not modify the latencies. These results suggest that the general developmental pattern of synapse formation between thalamic axons and subplate (superplate) neurons in WT and SRK is very similar, and individual thalamic arbors in cortex are considerably remodeled during early postnatal development to find layer IV equivalent neurons.

Original publication

DOI

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4023-04.2005

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Neurosci

Publication Date

09/02/2005

Volume

25

Pages

1395 - 1406

Keywords

Action Potentials, Age Factors, Animals, Axons, Cell Lineage, Cellular Senescence, Cerebral Cortex, Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists, Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists, Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials, Microscopy, Confocal, Nervous System Diseases, Neurons, Patch-Clamp Techniques, Quinoxalines, Rats, Rats, Mutant Strains, Somatosensory Cortex, Synapses, Thalamus, alpha-Amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic Acid