The cerebellum coordinates the body through its principal neuron, the Purkinje cell. The Purkinje cell integrates over 150,000 cortical and sensory inputs to generate the signals for coordinated movement. Those signals are in the form of a rate code that modulates from the intrinsic rate of ~50 Hz to span from ~1 to ~250 Hz. Firing rates under ~50 Hz require some form of net inhibition from inhibitory interneurons: basket cells and stellate cells. However, their strengths relative to each other and the role of a single interneuron in Purkinje cell firing rate modulation remain unclear. Can a single interneuron sustain a GABA conductance to shunt a Purkinje cell’s intrinsic inward currents? We will clarify these issues using a spike train stimulus protocol in basket and stellate cells while recording from a connected Purkinje cell.
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