A dendritic substrate for temporal diversity of cortical inhibition.

In the mammalian neocortex, GABAergic interneurons (INs) inhibit cortical networks in profoundly different ways. The extent to which this depends on how different INs process excitatory signals along their dendrites is poorly understood. Here, we reveal that the functional specialization of two major populations of cortical INs is determined by the unique association of different dendritic integration modes with distinct synaptic organization motifs.

Feedforward and disinhibitory circuits differentially control activity of cortical somatostatin interneurons during behavioral state transitions.

Interneurons (INs), specifically those in disinhibitory circuits like somatostatin (SST) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-INs, are strongly modulated by the behavioral context. Yet, the mechanisms by which these INs are recruited during active states and whether their activity is consistent across sensory cortices remain unclear. We now report that in mice, locomotor activity strongly recruits SST-INs in the primary somatosensory (S1) but not the visual (V1) cortex.