PLASTICITY OF INHIBITORY CELLS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE

MARIA CLARA GRAVIELLE; LEONARDO PIGANTARO; FLORENCE VARODAYAN

Frontiers in Synaptic Neuroscience

Lausanne: Frontiers Media

Año: 2022

1663-3563

Brain function is highly dependent on the ability of neural circuits to remodel synaptic connections in response to internal and external stimuli. For a long time, studies of plasticity in brain networks were primarily focused on excitatory synapses, with inhibitory connections considered to be largely stable. However, growing evidence indicates that inhibitory synapses can undergo short- and long-term forms of plasticity through a variety of pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms. Activity-dependent regulation of inhibitory transmission by Hebbian mechanisms has been well documented. On the other hand, homeostatic plasticity of inhibitory synapses has been demonstrated under physiological, pathological, pharmacological, and drug abuse conditions. These diverse forms of inhibitory synaptic plasticity represent an important source of neuronal network reorganization, and their crosstalk with excitatory synaptic plasticity maintains the brain’s overall excitatory/inhibitory balance. Despite this growing experimental evidence of inhibitory synapse plasticity, several key issues remain.