Fig. 1: MD amplifies functional PFC connectivity through cortical VIP+ interneurons.
From: Thalamic circuits for independent control of prefrontal signal and noise
a, Top, cartoon of experimental set-up. Bottom left, stabilized step function opsin (SSFO) MD expression. Bottom middle, PL tetrode location (white arrow); eNHpR3.0-expressing VIP+ neuron (inset). Bottom right, somatic ChR2 in contralateral PL. MDl, lateral MD; MDc, central MD; MDm, medial MD. Scale bars, 200 μm; 20 μm (inset). b, Top, putative excitatory PL neuron showing amplification of its response to intracortical stimulation (blue tick) when the MD is activated. Bottom, this effect is eliminated by inactivation of local VIP+ interneurons. c, Population quantification of effect in b (n = 151 excitatory PL neurons). d, Baseline spike rate suppression in another PL neuron after MD activation is unaffected by VIP+ interneuron inactivation. e, Population quantification of effect in d (n = 373 neurons). f, The two MD effects are uncorrelated (n = 151 neurons). g, Hypothesized MD projections target prefrontal interneurons for independent control over amplification and suppression of cortical activity patterns. Data from 4 VIP-cre mice. For c, e Mann-Whitney U for comparisons to baseline; Wilcoxon signed-rank for group comparisons. All statistical tests are two-tailed. For box plots in c, e, boundaries, 25–75th percentiles; midline, median; whiskers, minimum–maximum.
