GABA Neuron Alterations, Cortical Circuit Dysfunction and Cognitive Deficits in Schizophrenia

Figure 5

Intrinsic electrical properties of parvalbumin-positive GABA neurons. (a) Single action potentials in fast-spiking PV-positive neurons (FS) have significantly faster duration than pyramidal cell (PC) spikes or spikes in many other GABA neuron subtypes (not shown). (b) In response to sustained depolarizing current injection (500 ms rectangular current pulses shown below the traces), PCs produce high-frequency firing with significant spike-frequency adaptation as revealed by comparing the first and last interspike intervals (ISI). In contrast, adaptation of FS cell firing is much less significant or absent. (c) In response to gamma wave stimulation (sinusoidal current pulses shown below the traces), PCs show low capacity to respond with firing during each cycle of the gamma wave stimulus. (d) In response to gamma wave stimulation, FS cells show increased firing capacity, initiating spikes in the majority of gamma wave cycles. This property of the FS neuron membrane may contribute to the activation of FS neurons during gamma oscillations in vivo and is likely due to the resonance or frequency-preference properties (see text) that distinguish FS cells from PCs and also from other GABA neuron subtypes.