Abstract
During early development the structure and function of the cerebral cortex is critically organized by subplate neurons (SPNs), a mostly transient population of glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons located below the cortical plate. At the molecular and morphological level SPNs represent a rather diverse population of cells expressing a variety of genetic markers and revealing different axonal-dendritic morphologies. Electrophysiologically SPNs are characterized by their rather mature intrinsic membrane properties and firing patterns. They are connected via electrical and chemical synapses to local and remote neurons, e.g., thalamic relay neurons forming the first thalamocortical input to the cerebral cortex. Therefore SPNs are robustly activated at pre- and perinatal stages by the sensory periphery. Although SPNs play pivotal roles in early neocortical activity, development and plasticity, they mostly disappear by programmed cell death during further maturation. On the one hand, SPNs may be selectively vulnerable to hypoxia-ischemia contributing to brain damage, on the other hand there is some evidence that enhanced survival rates or alterations in SPN distribution may contribute to the etiology of neurological or psychiatric disorders. This review aims to give a comprehensive and up-to-date overview on the many functions of SPNs during early physiological and pathophysiological development of the cerebral cortex.
Highlights
The subplate (SP) was first described in the human cerebral cortex (Kostovic and Molliver, 1974), 3 years later in the fetal macaque (Rakic, 1977) and in rats (Rickmann et al, 1977), and in carnivores (Luskin and Shatz, 1985) (for an interesting review on the history of research on the SP, see Judas et al (2010)
While various aspects of the SP function have been covered by previous review articles, recent reports provided additional information on the molecular diversity and fate of subplate neurons (SPNs), revealed additional roles of SPNs in neocortical development, and provided evidence for an involvement/alteration of SPNs in brain diseases
This review article aims (i) to give a comprehensive overview of our current understanding on the origin, molecular heterogeneity, physiological properties and synaptic integration of SPNs, (ii) to integrate recent findings into a concept of the functional role of SPNs in the structural and functional maturation of the cerebral cortex, and (iii) to present hypotheses how impaired SP function may contribute to the etiology of neurological or neuropsychiatric disorders
Summary
During early development the structure and function of the cerebral cortex is critically organized by subplate neurons (SPNs), a mostly transient population of glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons located below the cortical plate. SPNs are characterized by their rather mature intrinsic membrane properties and firing patterns. They are connected via electrical and chemical synapses to local and remote neurons, e.g., thalamic relay neurons forming the first thalamocortical input to the cerebral cortex. SPNs play pivotal roles in early neocortical activity, development and plasticity, they mostly disappear by programmed cell death during further maturation. This review aims to give a comprehensive and up-to-date overview on the many functions of SPNs during early physiological and pathophysiological development of the cerebral cortex
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