Intrinsic inhibitory pathways in mouse barrel cortex

Abstract

The organization of intrinsic connections in the mouse somatosensory cortex was studied by combining tract-tracing and immunocytochemical techniques. Injections of HRP or fluorescent beads were made into the supragranular or infragranular layers of the posteriomedial barrel subfield. Numerous cells were retrogradely labeled within a vertical column centered on each injection site. Retrogradely labeled cells were also found > 3 mm horizontal to the injection. Dual-label immunocytochemistry identified the population of inhibitory, GABAergic cells forming intrinsic horizontal connections. Double-labeled cells were found predominantly within a 200 microns radius horizontal to an injection site. These findings indicate that intrinsic inhibitory pathways in the barrel cortex do not provide a substrate for direct GABAergic interactions among barrel columns, and that inter-columnar interactions are primarily excitatory.