Sensory experience-induced plasticity of somatostatin interneurons occurs through two-pore potassium (K2P) channels
- 1Berkeley
Abstract
GABAergic interneurons (INs) are powerful modulators of plasticity and learning in cortical networks, but plasticity of INs themselves is not well understood. We studied experience-dependent plasticity in somatostatin (SST) INs, which critically regulate dendritic integration, sensory tuning, and plasticity in pyramidal neurons in sensory cortex. Whether SST INs exhibit experience-dependent plasticity, and by what mechanisms, is unknown. We found that 3 days of whisker deprivation strongly downregulated intrinsic excitability of SST INs in L2/3 of somatosensory cortex, by reducing input resistance. Deprivation also increased mEPSCs onto SST INs. The reduction in intrinsic excitability was caused by an increase in leak potassium current through two-pore K+ (K2P) channels, without changes in HCN, KV1, or KV7 currents, which contribute to plasticity in other IN types and brain areas. Immunohistochemistry showed an increase in TRESK, but not other K2P channels, indicating a novel role for K2P channels in experience-dependent plasticity of interneuron excitability.
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BibTeX
@misc{bohannon2026sensory,
title = {{Sensory experience-induced plasticity of somatostatin interneurons occurs through two-pore potassium (K2P) channels}},
author = {B. M. Bohannon and N. L. Alonso and M. G. Walker and M. Wang and K. Kaimaktchiev and C. Yang and D. Feldman},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.64898/2026.11.06.764984},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.06.764984v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Sensory experience-induced plasticity of somatostatin interneurons occurs through two-pore potassium (K2P) channels
AU - B. M. Bohannon
AU - N. L. Alonso
AU - M. G. Walker
AU - M. Wang
AU - K. Kaimaktchiev
AU - C. Yang
AU - D. Feldman
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/06
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.11.06.764984
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.06.764984v1
AB - GABAergic interneurons (INs) are powerful modulators of plasticity and learning in cortical networks, but plasticity of INs themselves is not well understood. We studied experience-dependent plasticity in somatostatin (SST) INs, which critically regulate dendritic integration, sensory tuning, and plasticity in pyramidal neurons in sensory cortex. Whether SST INs exhibit experience-dependent plasticity, and by what mechanisms, is unknown. We found that 3 days of whisker deprivation strongly downregulated intrinsic excitability of SST INs in L2/3 of somatosensory cortex, by reducing input resistance. Deprivation also increased mEPSCs onto SST INs. The reduction in intrinsic excitability was caused by an increase in leak potassium current through two-pore K+ (K2P) channels, without changes in HCN, KV1, or KV7 currents, which contribute to plasticity in other IN types and brain areas. Immunohistochemistry showed an increase in TRESK, but not other K2P channels, indicating a novel role for K2P channels in experience-dependent plasticity of interneuron excitability.
ER -