Modulation of Prefrontal Cortex Slow Oscillations by Phasic Activation of the Locus Coeruleus

•Locus Coeruleus phasic response facilitated prefrontal network activation.•Transient NA release sustained depolarization and enhanced spiking probability in the mPFC.•Effect of LC stimulation depended on excitability level of prefrontal network.•Functional role for the coerulear–prefrontal interact...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroscience 2021-01, Vol.453, p.268-279
Main Authors: Durán, Ernesto, Yang, Mingyu, Neves, Ricardo, Logothetis, Nikos K., Eschenko, Oxana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
cortical state
Electric Stimulation
Locus Coeruleus
Neurons
Norepinephrine
Prefrontal Cortex
rat
Rats
slow oscillations
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•Locus Coeruleus phasic response facilitated prefrontal network activation.•Transient NA release sustained depolarization and enhanced spiking probability in the mPFC.•Effect of LC stimulation depended on excitability level of prefrontal network.•Functional role for the coerulear–prefrontal interactions for promoting plasticity is proposed. Cortical slow rhythmic activity, a hallmark of deep sleep, is observed under urethane anesthesia. Synchronized fluctuations of the membrane excitability of a large neuronal population are reflected in the extracellular Local Field Potential (LFP), as high-amplitude slow (∼1 Hz) oscillations (SO). The SO-phase indicates the presence (Up) or absence (Down) of neuronal spiking. The cortical state is controlled by the input from thalamic and neuromodulatory centers, including the brainstem noradrenergic nucleus Locus Coeruleus (LC). The bidirectional modulation of neuronal excitability by noradrenaline (NA) is well known. We have previously shown that LC phasic activation caused transient excitability increase in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). In the present study, we characterized the effect of LC phasic activation on the prefrontal population dynamics at a temporal scale of a single SO cycle. We applied short (0.2 s) trains of electric pulses (0.02–0.05 mA at 20–50 Hz) to the LC cell bodies and monitored a broadband (0.1 Hz–8 kHz) mPFC LFP in urethane-anesthetized rats. The direct electrical stimulation of LC (LC-DES), applied during the Up-phase, enhanced the firing probability in the mPFC by ∼20% and substantially prolonged Up-states in 56% of trials. The LC-DES applied during Down-phase caused a rapid Down-to-Up transition in 81.5% of trials. The LC-DES was more effective at a higher frequency, but not at a higher current. Our results suggest that transient NA release, coupled to SO, may promote synaptic plasticity and memory consolidation by sustaining a depolarized state in the mPFC neurons.
ISSN:0306-4522
1873-7544
DOI:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.11.028