Microcircuit-specific processing in the hippocampus.

摘要

How does the hippocampus process information originating from the entorhinal cortex and transform it into the integrated output that ultimately underlies its functions in vivo? How does this type of activity remain within physiological boundaries despite the many recurrent excitatory loops that create a risk for epileptic seizures? These questions are important because entorhinal-hippocampal circuits serve as major centres for spatial navigation and memory and play key roles in temporal lobe epilepsy and other neurological disorders. Although the fundamental wiring diagram of the synaptic connections between entorhinal afferents and hippocampal principal neurons (i.e. pyramidal and granule cells) has been known since the pioneering studies of Ramon y Cajal, additional synapses and neuronal types play critical roles in the integrative process that shapes the physiological activity of specific assemblies of hippocampal principal cells in vivo.