Somatostatin interneurons in the prefrontal cortex control affective state discrimination in mice
- 16 December 2019
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature Neuroscience
- Vol. 23 (1), 47-60
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-019-0551-8
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is implicated in processing of the affective state of others through non-verbal communication. This social cognitive function is thought to rely on an intact cortical neuronal excitatory and inhibitory balance. Here combining in vivo electrophysiology with a behavioral task for affective state discrimination in mice, we show a differential activation of medial PFC (mPFC) neurons during social exploration that depends on the affective state of the conspecific. Optogenetic manipulations revealed a double dissociation between the role of interneurons in social cognition. Specifically, inhibition of mPFC somatostatin (SOM+), but not of parvalbumin (PV+) interneurons, abolishes affective state discrimination. Accordingly, synchronized activation of mPFC SOM+ interneurons selectively induces social discrimination. As visualized by in vivo single-cell microendoscopic Ca2+ imaging, an increased synchronous activity of mPFC SOM+ interneurons, guiding inhibition of pyramidal neurons, is associated with affective state discrimination. Our findings provide new insights into the neurobiological mechanisms of affective state discrimination.Keywords
Funding Information
- Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (NARSAD grant n. 27829, NARSAD grant n. 23234)
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
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