Journal Article

Functional properties of stellate cells in medial entorhinal cortex layer II

Zhang, Qiangwei, Skytøen, Emilie R, Kentros, Cliff G, Moser, May-Britt, Rowland, David C, Obenhaus, Horst A, Moser, Edvard I

2018

Overview

Layer II of the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) contains two principal cell types: pyramidal cells and stellate cells. Accumulating evidence suggests that these two cell types have distinct molecular profiles, physiological properties, and connectivity. The observations hint at a fundamental functional difference between the two cell populations but conclusions have been mixed. Here, we used a tTA-based transgenic mouse line to drive expression of ArchT, an optogenetic silencer, specifically in stellate cells. We were able to optogenetically identify stellate cells and characterize their firing properties in freely moving mice. The stellate cell population included cells from a range of functional cell classes. Roughly one in four of the tagged cells were grid cells, suggesting that stellate cells contribute not only to path-integration-based representation of self-location but also have other functions. The data support observations suggesting that grid cells are not the sole determinant of place cell firing.

• Publisher: eLife Science Publications, Ltd,eLife Sciences Publications Ltd,eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
• Subject: Animals / CA3 Region, Hippocampal - cytology / Cortex (entorhinal) / Dentate Gyrus - cytology / entorhinal cortex / Entorhinal Cortex - cytology / Entorhinal Cortex - physiology / Female / Genetic engineering / Green Fluorescent Proteins - metabolism / grid cells / Male / memory / Mice, Inbred C57BL / Mice, Transgenic / Neuroscience / Physiological aspects / Pyramidal cells / Regulatory sequences / RNA, Messenger - genetics / RNA, Messenger - metabolism / spatial navigation / Stains & staining / Stellate cells / Theta Rhythm - physiology / Transgenic mice