Postnatal development of temporal integration, spike timing and spike threshold regulation by a dendrotoxin-sensitive K⁺ current in rat CA1 hippocampal cells.

Spike timing and network synchronization are important for plasticity, development and maturation of brain circuits. Spike delays and timing can be strongly modulated by a low-threshold, slowly inactivating, voltage-gated potassium current called D-current (ID ). ID can delay the onset of spiking, cause temporal integration of multiple inputs, and regulate spike threshold and network synchrony. Recent data indicate that ID can also undergo activity-dependent, homeostatic regulation. Therefore, we have studied the postnatal development of ID -dependent mechanisms in CA1 pyramidal cells in hippocampal slices from young rats (P7-27), using somatic whole-cell recordings. At P21-27, these neurons showed long spike delays and pronounced temporal integration in response to a series of brief depolarizing current pulses or a single long pulse, whereas younger cells (P7-20) showed shorter discharge delays and weak temporal integration, although the spike threshold became increasingly negative with maturation. Application of α-dendrotoxin (α-DTX), which blocks ID , reduced the spiking latency and temporal integration most strongly in mature cells, while shifting the spike threshold most strongly in a depolarizing direction in these cells. Voltage-clamp analysis revealed an α-DTX-sensitive outward current (ID ) that increased in amplitude during development. In contrast to P21-23, ID in the youngest group (P7-9) showed smaller peri-threshold amplitude. This may explain why long discharge delays and robust temporal integration only appear later, 3 weeks postnatally. We conclude that ID properties and ID -dependent functions develop postnatally in rat CA1 pyramidal cells, and ID may modulate network activity and plasticity through its effects on synaptic integration, spike threshold, timing and synchrony.