Towards a role of disynaptic inhibition by somatostatin interneurons in the neocortical microcircuit

The cortex is the most elaborate part of the brain, where many important cognitive functions like sensory perception, learning, memory and decision making take place. Information flow within and between cortical areas is crucial for these different functions and depends on excitatory neurons firing precisely-timed action potentials. How this firing is regulated is, therefore, one of the most important topics in neuroscience and is fundamental to understanding how cognitive processes become altered in neurological disorders. Much of this regulation is provided by inhibitory neurons, which constitute a small but diverse class of cells in cortex, and form specific connections onto excitatory neurons to generate "inhibitory microcircuits". This project will investigate the connectivity and function of an inhibitory microcircuit that is formed by a particular type of inhibitory neuron and is a promising candidate for controlling the timing and integration of cortical information. The project will examine the extent to which this inhibitory microcircuit occurs in somatosensory cortex and how the microcircuit is maintained in the face of changes in the levels of cortical activity. Finally, the functional importance to processing sensory information will be explored using experimental methods that can temporarily increase or decrease the contribution of this inhibitory microcircuit.