Electrically coupled inhibitory interneurons constrain long-range connectivity of cortical networks
Andrew W. Kraft,
Anish Mitra,
Zachary P. Rosenthal,
Nico U.F. Dosenbach,
Adam Q. Bauer,
Abraham Z. Snyder,
Marcus E. Raichle,
Joseph P. Culver,
Jin-Moo Lee
Affiliations
Andrew W. Kraft
Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Anish Mitra
Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
Zachary P. Rosenthal
Department of Neurology, Washington University, St. Louis, USA
Nico U.F. Dosenbach
Department of Neurology, Washington University, St. Louis, USA; Department of Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, USA; Department of Program in Occupational Therapy, Washington University, St. Louis, USA
Adam Q. Bauer
Department of Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis, USA
Abraham Z. Snyder
Department of Neurology, Washington University, St. Louis, USA; Department of Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis, USA
Marcus E. Raichle
Department of Neurology, Washington University, St. Louis, USA; Department of Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis, USA
Joseph P. Culver
Department of Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, USA; Department of Physics, Washington University, St. Louis, USA
Jin-Moo Lee
Department of Neurology, Washington University, St. Louis, USA; Department of Radiology, Washington University, St. Louis, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, USA; Corresponding author. Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid, Campus Box 8111, Saint Louis, Missouri, 63110, USA.
Spontaneous infra-slow brain activity (ISA) exhibits a high degree of temporal synchrony, or correlation, between distant brain regions. The spatial organization of ISA synchrony is not explained by anatomical connections alone, suggesting that active neural processes coordinate spontaneous activity. Inhibitory interneurons (IINs) form electrically coupled connections via the gap junction protein connexin 36 (Cx36) and networks of interconnected IINs are known to influence neural synchrony over short distances. However, the role of electrically coupled IIN networks in regulating spontaneous correlation over the entire brain is unknown. In this study, we performed OIS imaging on Cx36−/− mice to examine the role of this gap junction in ISA correlation across the entire cortex. We show that Cx36 deletion increased long-distance intra-hemispheric anti-correlation and inter-hemispheric correlation in spontaneous ISA. This suggests that electrically coupled IIN networks modulate ISA synchrony over long cortical distances.
