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Fast IPSCs in rat thalamic reticular nucleus require the GABA A receptor β 1 subunit
Author(s) -
Huntsman Molly M.,
Huguenard John R.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jphysiol.2006.106617
Subject(s) - protein subunit , neuroscience , postsynaptic potential , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , thalamic reticular nucleus , nucleus , reticular connective tissue , biology , receptor , chemistry , biophysics , anatomy , biochemistry , gene
Synchrony within the thalamocortical system is regulated in part by intranuclear synaptic inhibition within the reticular nucleus (RTN). Inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) in RTN neurons are largely characterized by slow decay kinetics that result in powerful and prolonged suppression of spikes. Here we show that some individual RTN neurons are characterized by highly variable mixtures of fast, slow and mixed IPSCs. Heterogeneity arose largely through differences in the contribution of an initial decay component (τ D ∼10 ms) which was insensitive to loreclezole, suggesting involvement of the GABA A receptor β 1 subunit. Single‐cell RT‐PCR revealed the presence of β 1 subunit mRNA only in those neurons whose IPSCs were dominated by a rapid and prominent initial decay phase. These data show that brief, β 1 ‐dependent, loreclezole‐insensitive IPSCs are present in a subpopulation of RTN neurons, and suggest that striking differences in IPSC heterogeneity within single neurons can result from of the presence or absence of a single GABA A receptor subunit.