Kinetics and Connectivity Properties of Parvalbumin- and Somatostatin-Positive Inhibition in Layer 2/3 Medial Entorhinal Cortex

Parvalbumin-positive (Pvalb(+)) and somatostatin-positive (Sst(+)) cells are the two largest subgroups of inhibitory interneurons. Studies in visual cortex indicate that synaptic connections between Pvalb(+) cells are common while connections between Sst(+) interneurons have not been observed. The inhibitory connectivity and kinetics of these two interneuron subpopulations, however, have not been characterized in medial entorhinal cortex (mEC). Using fluorescence-guided paired recordings in mouse brain slices from interneurons and excitatory cells in layer 2/3 mEC, we found that, unlike neocortical measures, Sst(+) cells inhibit each other, albeit with a lower probability than Pvalb(+) cells (18% vs 36% for unidirectional connections). Gap junction connections were also more frequent between Pvalb(+) cells than between Sst(+) cells. Pvalb(+) cells inhibited each other with larger conductances, smaller decay time constants, and shorter delays. Similarly, synaptic connections between Pvalb(+) and excitatory cells were more likely and expressed faster decay times and shorter delays than those between Sst(+) and excitatory cells. Inhibitory cells exhibited smaller synaptic decay time constants between interneurons than on their excitatory targets. Inhibition between interneurons also depressed faster, and to a greater extent. Finally, inhibition onto layer 2 pyramidal and stellate cells originating from Pvalb(+) interneurons were very similar, with no significant differences in connection likelihood, inhibitory amplitude, and decay time. A model of short-term depression fitted to the data indicates that recovery time constants for refilling the available pool are in the range of 50–150 ms and that the fraction of the available pool released on each spike is in the range 0.2–0.5.