Cited by 722Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchNeural dynamics and brain functionVisual perception and processing mechanisms

Equalizing excitation-inhibition ratios across visual cortical neurons

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Xue, Mingshan, Atallah, Bassam V., Scanziani, Massimo·2014·Nature

Abstract

The relationship between synaptic excitation and inhibition (E/I ratio), two opposing forces in the mammalian cerebral cortex, affects many cortical functions such as feature selectivity and gain. Individual pyramidal cells show stable E/I ratios in time despite fluctuating cortical activity levels. This is because when excitation increases, inhibition increases proportionally through the increased recruitment of inhibitory neurons, a phenomenon referred to as excitation-inhibition balance. However, little is known about the distribution of E/I ratios across pyramidal cells. Through their highly divergent axons, inhibitory neurons indiscriminately contact most neighbouring pyramidal cells. Is inhibition homogeneously distributed or is it individually matched to the different amounts of excitation received by distinct pyramidal cells? Here we discover that pyramidal cells in layer 2/3 of mouse primary visual cortex each receive inhibition in a similar proportion to their excitation. As a consequence, E/I ratios are equalized across pyramidal cells. This matched inhibition is mediated by parvalbumin-expressing but not somatostatin-expressing inhibitory cells and results from the independent adjustment of synapses originating from individual parvalbumin-expressing cells targeting different pyramidal cells. Furthermore, this match is activity-dependent as it is disrupted by perturbing pyramidal cell activity. Thus, the equalization of E/I ratios across pyramidal cells reveals an unexpected degree of order in the spatial distribution of synaptic strengths and indicates that the relationship between the cortex's two opposing forces is stabilized not only in time but also in space.

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  • PV interneuron output strength can correlate with the excitation received by the postsynaptic cell or with the type of postsynaptic projection neuron.

    “Even if INs densely contact neighboring excitatory cells and vice versa, some evidence suggests that PV INs exhibit output strengths that correlate with the amount of excitation received by the postsynaptic cell (Xue et al., 2014) or the type of postsynaptic projection neuron (Lee et al., 2014a; Lee et al., 2014d).”

    From GABAergic Interneurons in the Neocortex: From Cellular Properties to Circuits (2016) · cites this paper as Xue et al., 2014

  • Neuronal circuits can enforce coordination of E and I strength, even at the level of single dendritic branches.

    “We utilize “E:I coordination” as a more faithful characterization of the neuronal state, amply supported by experimental evidence that neuronal circuits can enforce coordination of E and I strength (Xue et al., 2014)(Fig. 7B), even down at the level of single dendritic branches (Liu, 2004) (Fig. 7A).”
  • All labeled neurons recorded in Scnn1a-Cre/Ai9 mice (n = 5) were morphologically confirmed as pyramidal neurons (100%, 30/30).

    “all labeled neurons recorded in Scnn1a-Cre/Ai9 mice (n = 5), a transgenic mouse line that preferentially labels excitatory neurons in L436,37, were morphologically confirmed as PYRs (100%, 30/30).”

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Authors
Xue, M., Atallah, B. V., & Scanziani, M.
Affiliations
  • Baylor College of Medicine (US)
  • Centro Champalimaud (PT)
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
Corresponding author
  • Xue, Mingshan
  • Scanziani, Massimo
Venue
Nature
Published
2014-06-22
Volume
511
Issue
7511
Pages
596-600
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2077208091
Cited by
722
References
51
Citations by year
2026: 32 · 2025: 71 · 2024: 74 · 2023: 53 · 2022: 70 · 2021: 65 · 2020: 76 · 2019: 54 · 2018: 67 · 2017: 55 · 2016: 52 · 2015: 42 · 2014: 11
FWCI
24.36
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (P30NS047101)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
Keywords
excitation-inhibition balance, primary visual cortex, pyramidal neurons, parvalbumin interneurons, somatostatin interneurons, layer 2/3, synaptic inhibition, activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, cortical microcircuitry, mouse visual cortex
MeSH terms
Animals, Female, Humans, Male, Neural Inhibition, Neurons, Synapses, Visual Cortex, Pyramidal Cells, Mice, HEK293 Cells

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