How subfield-specific interneuron circuits govern the hippocampal response to novelty in male mice

Hainmueller, T., Cazala, A., Huang, LW. et al. Subfield-specific interneuron circuits govern the hippocampal response to novelty in male mice. Nat Commun 15, 714 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44882-3

Abstract
“The hippocampus is the brain’s center for episodic memories. Its subregions, the dentate gyrus and CA1-3, are differentially involved in memory encoding and recall. Hippocampal principal cells represent episodic features like movement, space, and context, but less is known about GABAergic interneurons. Here, we performed two-photon calcium imaging of parvalbumin- and somatostatin-expressing interneurons in the dentate gyrus and CA1-3 of male mice exploring virtual environments. Parvalbumin-interneurons increased activity with running-speed and reduced it in novel environments. Somatostatin-interneurons in CA1-3 behaved similar to parvalbumin-expressing cells, but their dentate gyrus counterparts increased activity during rest and in novel environments. Congruently, chemogenetic silencing of dentate parvalbumin-interneurons had prominent effects in familiar contexts, while silencing somatostatin-expressing cells increased similarity of granule cell representations between novel and familiar environments. Our data indicate unique roles for parvalbumin- and somatostatin-positive interneurons in the dentate gyrus that are distinct from those in CA1-3 and may support routing of novel information.”

Hainmueller, T., Cazala, A., Huang, LW. et al. Subfield-specific interneuron circuits govern the hippocampal response to novelty in male mice. Nat Commun 15, 714 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44882-3