日本理研脑科学研究所Yoshihiro Yoshihara课题组取得一项新突破。他们揭示了屏状核协调皮层慢波（SW）活动的功能。相关论文发表在2020年5月11日出版的《自然-神经科学》杂志上。

他们报告锁骨协调新皮质SW生成。他们建立了一个转基因小鼠品系，该基因使能对屏状核谷氨酸能神经元亚群进行基因询问。这些神经元从广泛的新皮层区域接收输入，并将输出发送到新的皮层区域。屏状核神经元放电大多与皮质SW活动相关。屏状核的体外光遗传刺激在大多数新皮层神经元中引起兴奋性突触后反应，但主要在抑制性中间神经元中引起动作电位。

体内光遗传学刺激诱导了同步下降状态，其特征是许多皮质区域的所有层中神经活动的沉默时间延长，随后是状态的完全转变。相反，屏状核神经元的遗传削弱了额叶皮层的SW活动。这些结果表明屏状核神经元在同步抑制跨整个皮层区域的中间神经元时空协调SW活动的关键作用。

附：英文原文

Title: The claustrum coordinates cortical slow-wave activity

Author: Kimiya Narikiyo, Rumiko Mizuguchi, Ayako Ajima, Momoko Shiozaki, Hiroki Hamanaka, Joshua P. Johansen, Kensaku Mori, Yoshihiro Yoshihara

Issue&Volume: 2020-05-11

Abstract: During sleep and awake rest, the neocortex generates large-scale slow-wave (SW) activity. Here, we report that the claustrum coordinates neocortical SW generation. We established a transgenic mouse line that enabled the genetic interrogation of a subpopulation of claustral glutamatergic neurons. These neurons received inputs from and sent outputs to widespread neocortical areas. The claustral neuronal firings mostly correlated with cortical SW activity. In vitro optogenetic stimulation of the claustrum induced excitatory postsynaptic responses in most neocortical neurons, but elicited action potentials primarily in inhibitory interneurons. In vivo optogenetic stimulation induced a synchronized down-state featuring prolonged silencing of neural activity in all layers of many cortical areas, followed by a down-to-up state transition. In contrast, genetic ablation of claustral neurons attenuated SW activity in the frontal cortex. These results demonstrate a crucial role of claustral neurons in synchronizing inhibitory interneurons across wide cortical areas for the spatiotemporal coordination of SW activity.

DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-0625-7

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-020-0625-7