TY - JOUR
T1 - Granule cell ascending axon excitatory synapses onto Golgi cells implement a potent feedback circuit in the cerebellar granular layer
AU - Cesana, Elisabetta
AU - Pietrajtis, Katarzyna
AU - Bidoret, Céline
AU - Isope, Philippe
AU - D'Angelo, Egidio
AU - Dieudonné, Stéphane
AU - Forti, Lia
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - The function of inhibitory interneurons within brain microcircuits depends critically on the nature and properties of their excitatory synaptic drive. Golgi cells (GoCs) of the cerebellum inhibit cerebellar granule cells (GrCs) and are driven both by feedforward mossy fiber (mf) and feedback GrC excitation. Here, we have characterized GrC inputs to GoCs in rats and mice. We show that, during sustained mf discharge, synapses from local GrCs contribute equivalent charge to GoCs as mf synapses, arguing for the importance of the feedback inhibition. Previous studies predicted that GrC-GoC synapses occur predominantly between parallel fibers (pfs) and apical GoC dendrites in the molecular layer (ML). By combining EM and Ca2+ imaging, we now demonstrate the presence of functional synaptic contacts between ascending axons (aa) of GrCs and basolateral dendrites of GoCs in the granular layer (GL). Immunohistochemical quantification estimates these contacts to be ~400 per GoC. Using Ca2+ imaging to identify synaptic inputs, we show that EPSCs from aa and mf contacts in basolateral dendrites display similarly fast kinetics, whereas pf inputs in the ML exhibit markedly slower kinetics as they undergo strong filtering by apical dendrites. We estimate that approximately half of the local GrC contacts generate fast EPSCs, indicating their basolateral location in the GL. We conclude that GrCs, through their aa contacts onto proximal GoC dendrites, define a powerful feedback inhibitory circuit in the GL.
AB - The function of inhibitory interneurons within brain microcircuits depends critically on the nature and properties of their excitatory synaptic drive. Golgi cells (GoCs) of the cerebellum inhibit cerebellar granule cells (GrCs) and are driven both by feedforward mossy fiber (mf) and feedback GrC excitation. Here, we have characterized GrC inputs to GoCs in rats and mice. We show that, during sustained mf discharge, synapses from local GrCs contribute equivalent charge to GoCs as mf synapses, arguing for the importance of the feedback inhibition. Previous studies predicted that GrC-GoC synapses occur predominantly between parallel fibers (pfs) and apical GoC dendrites in the molecular layer (ML). By combining EM and Ca2+ imaging, we now demonstrate the presence of functional synaptic contacts between ascending axons (aa) of GrCs and basolateral dendrites of GoCs in the granular layer (GL). Immunohistochemical quantification estimates these contacts to be ~400 per GoC. Using Ca2+ imaging to identify synaptic inputs, we show that EPSCs from aa and mf contacts in basolateral dendrites display similarly fast kinetics, whereas pf inputs in the ML exhibit markedly slower kinetics as they undergo strong filtering by apical dendrites. We estimate that approximately half of the local GrC contacts generate fast EPSCs, indicating their basolateral location in the GL. We conclude that GrCs, through their aa contacts onto proximal GoC dendrites, define a powerful feedback inhibitory circuit in the GL.
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U2 - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4897-11.2013
DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4897-11.2013
M3 - Article
C2 - 23884948
AN - SCOPUS:84880615952
VL - 33
SP - 12430
EP - 12446
JO - Journal of Neuroscience
JF - Journal of Neuroscience
SN - 0270-6474
IS - 30
ER -