Encoding of social novelty by sparse GABAergic neural ensembles in the prelimbic cortex.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 36044579.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abo4884 and PMC identifier 9432833.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Although the prelimbic (PrL) area is associated with social behaviors, the neural ensembles that regulate social preference toward novelty or familiarity remain unknown. Using miniature two-photon microscopy (mTPM) to visualize social behavior-associated neuronal activity within the PrL in freely behaving mice, we found that the Ca<sup>2+</sup> transients of GABAergic neurons were more highly correlated with social behaviors than those of glutamatergic neurons. Chemogenetic suppression of social behavior-activated GABAergic neurons in the PrL disrupts social novelty behaviors. Restoring the MeCP2 level in PrL GABAergic neurons in <i>MECP2</i> transgenic (<i>MECP2</i>-TG) mice rescues the social novelty deficits. Moreover, we identified and characterized sparsely distributed NewPNs and OldPNs of GABAergic interneurons in the PrL preferentially responsible for new and old mouse exploration, respectively. Together, we propose that social novelty information may be encoded by the responses of NewPNs and OldPNs in the PrL area, possibly via synergistic actions on both sides of the seesaw.