Synergistic plasticity of intrinsic conductance and electrical coupling restores synchrony in an intact motor network
- University of Missouri-Columbia, United States
Abstract
Motor neurons of the crustacean cardiac ganglion generate virtually identical, synchronized output despite the fact that each neuron uses distinct conductance magnitudes. As a result of this variability, manipulations that target ionic conductances have distinct effects on neurons within the same ganglion, disrupting synchronized motor neuron output that is necessary for proper cardiac function. We hypothesized that robustness in network output is accomplished via plasticity that counters such destabilizing influences. By blocking high-threshold K+ conductances in motor neurons within the ongoing cardiac network, we discovered that compensation both resynchronized the network and helped restore excitability. Using model findings to guide experimentation, we determined that compensatory increases of both GA and electrical coupling restored function in the network. This is one of the first direct demonstrations of physiological regulation of coupling conductance in a compensatory context, and of synergistic plasticity across cell- and network-level mechanisms in the restoration of output.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
National Institutes of Health (MH46742)
- David J Schulz
University of Missouri Research Board
- Satish S Nair
- David J Schulz
National Institutes of Health (MH087755)
- Satish S Nair
National Institutes of Health (5T32GM008396)
- Brian J Lane
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Copyright
© 2016, Lane et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Synergistic plasticity of intrinsic conductance and electrical coupling restores synchrony in an intact motor network
eLife 5:e16879.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16879
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