This is an historical archive of the activities of the MRC Anatomical Neuropharmacology Unit (MRC ANU) that operated at the University of Oxford from 1985 until March 2015. The MRC ANU established a reputation for world-leading research on the brain, for training new generations of scientists, and for engaging the general public in neuroscience. The successes of the MRC ANU are now built upon at the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit at the University of Oxford.

Basket-like interneurones in layer II of the entorhinal cortex exhibit a powerful NMDA-mediated synaptic excitation.

Neurosci. Lett. 1993;149(1):35-9.

Basket-like interneurones in layer II of the entorhinal cortex exhibit a powerful NMDA-mediated synaptic excitation.

Jones RS, Bühl EH
Abstract:
Spiny stellate neurones of layer II of the entorhinal cortex (EC) provide the perforant path input to the dentate gyrus. Previous studies have shown that synaptic responses of these neurones are dominated by GABAergic inhibition. The present study describes intracellular recordings from 'fast-spiking' interneurones in layer II which may be the basis of the synaptic inhibition. Lucifer yellow fills of fast-spiking cells revealed neurones with a widespread axonal arborization forming basket-like complexes around unlabelled cells in layer II. Synaptic activation of the fast-spiking cells evoked long duration excitations which were mediated largely by NMDA receptors. A fast AMPA/kainate EPSP was also detectable. These neurones have morphological and physiological properties which make them well-suited to exert a widespread inhibitory control over the efferent output of layer II to the dentate gyrus.