Instantaneous correlation of excitation and inhibition during ongoing and sensory-evoked activities.

Temporal and quantitative relations between excitatory and inhibitory inputs in the cortex are central to its activity, yet they remain poorly understood. In particular, a controversy exists regarding the extent of correlation between cortical excitation and inhibition. Using simultaneous intracellular recordings in pairs of nearby neurons in vivo, we found that excitatory and inhibitory inputs are continuously synchronized and correlated in strength during spontaneous and sensory-evoked activities in the rat somatosensory cortex.