Author: Lee HS1, Ghetti A2, Pinto-Duarte A3, Wang X4, Dziewczapolski G5, Galimi F6, Huitron-Resendiz S7, Piña-Crespo JC5, Roberts AJ7, Verma IM8, Sejnowski TJ9, Heinemann SF2.
Affiliation: 1Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037;Department of Life Sciences, Sogang University, Mapo-gu, Seoul 121-742, Republic of Korea; hslee@sogang.ac.kr heinemann@salk.edu. 2Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037; hslee@sogang.ac.kr heinemann@salk.edu. 3Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Computational Neurobiology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037;Institute of Pharmacology and Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal;Neurosciences Unit, Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Lisbon, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal; 4Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Computational Neurobiology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037; 5Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037; 6Laboratory of Genetics, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037;Department of Biomedical Sciences/Istituto Nazionale di Biostrutture e Biosistemi, University of Sassari Medical School, 07100 Sassari, Italy; and. 7Mouse Behavioral Assessment Core, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037; 8Laboratory of Genetics, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037; 9Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Computational Neurobiology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037;Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093
Conference/Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.
Date published: 2014 Aug 12
Other:
Volume ID: 111 , Issue ID: 32 , Pages: e3343-52 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1073/pnas.1410893111 , Word Count: 211
Glial cells are an integral part of functional communication in the brain. Here we show that astrocytes contribute to the fast dynamics of neural circuits that underlie normal cognitive behaviors. In particular, we found that the selective expression of tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT) in astrocytes significantly reduced the duration of carbachol-induced gamma oscillations in hippocampal slices. These data prompted us to develop a novel transgenic mouse model, specifically with inducible tetanus toxin expression in astrocytes. In this in vivo model, we found evidence of a marked decrease in electroencephalographic (EEG) power in the gamma frequency range in awake-behaving mice, whereas neuronal synaptic activity remained intact. The reduction in cortical gamma oscillations was accompanied by impaired behavioral performance in the novel object recognition test, whereas other forms of memory, including working memory and fear conditioning, remained unchanged. These results support a key role for gamma oscillations in recognition memory. Both EEG alterations and behavioral deficits in novel object recognition were reversed by suppression of tetanus toxin expression. These data reveal an unexpected role for astrocytes as essential contributors to information processing and cognitive behavior.
KEYWORDS:
electroencephalogram; glia; glial fibrillary acidic protein; gliotransmitter; network oscillation
Comment in
Oscillations: a dynamic role for astrocytes. [Nat Rev Neurosci. 2014]
PMID: 25071179 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC4136580