Ubiquity of immature population bursts

August 25, 2021

Using paired intracellular recordings we studied the contribution of different cell types and microcircuits to immature population bursts known as Giant Depolarizing Potentials (GDPs). In the example, two different CA3 pyramidal cells fire and contribute distinctly to GDPs. More recently, the deep/superficial and proximodistal location of a diversity of cell types were identified as major axes for variability.

The idea of a critical period in hippocampal postnatal development characterized by hyperexcitability was a major research line in the 90s. Giant Depolarizing Potentials (GDPs) represent a prominent population event recorded in vitro and in vivo. During my PhD, I studied the cellular and microcircuit contribution to GDPs. They were considered to be generated in the CA3 hippocampal region. I discovered they were actually ubiquitous at any hippocampal area (Menendez de la Prida et al., EJN 1998), and generated by small pieces of tissue provided they contain a minimal nonlinear network (Menendez de la Prida, J Neurophysiol 1999; Physical Rev. E 1999). Using simultaneous intracellular recordings, I explored the contribution of different cells to the initiation of population events (Menendez de la Prida and Sanchez-Andres, Neuroscience 2000).