Phasic and Tonic Inhibition are Maintained Respectively by CaMKII and PKA in the Rat Visual Cortex

Phasic and tonic γ-aminobutyric acid(A) (GABA(A)) receptor-mediated inhibition critically regulate neuronal information processing. As these two inhibitory modalities have distinctive features in their receptor composition, subcellular localization of receptors, and the timing of receptor activation, it has been thought that they might exert distinct roles, if not completely separable, in the regulation of neuronal function. Inhibition should be maintained and regulated depending on changes in network activity, since maintenance of excitation-inhibition balance is essential for proper functioning of the nervous system. In the present study, we investigated how phasic and tonic inhibition are maintained and regulated by different signaling cascades. Inhibitory postsynaptic currents were measured as either electrically evoked events or spontaneous events to investigate regulation of phasic inhibition in layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons of the rat visual cortex. Tonic inhibition was assessed as changes in holding currents by the application of the GABA(A) receptor blocker bicuculline. Basal tone of phasic inhibition was maintained by intracellular Ca(2+) and Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). However, maintenance of tonic inhibition relied on protein kinase A activity. Depolarization of membrane potential (5 min of 0 mV holding) potentiated phasic inhibition via Ca(2+) and CaMKII but tonic inhibition was not affected. Thus, phasic and tonic inhibition seem to be independently maintained and regulated by different signaling cascades in the same cell. These results suggest that neuromodulatory signals might differentially regulate phasic and tonic inhibition in response to changes in brain states.