News Finding: This neuronal excitability may also be the basis for symptoms in children with FXS, which can include disrupted sleep, seizures, or learning disabilities.
Paper Finding: For instance, it is conceivable that prolonged Up states in L4 (an initial form of hyper-excitability) lead to higher firing rates in L2/3 neurons (a secondary form of hyperexcitability) without prolonging Up states.
News Context: They found these neuronal networks showed too much activity, firing too often and in synch, much more than a normal brain. This neuronal excitability may also be the basis for symptoms in children with FXS, which can include disrupted sleep, seizures, or learning disabilities. The findings may lead to treatments that could quiet the excessive activity and allow for more normal behavior.
Paper Context: Perhaps differences in how the slow oscillation was measured (in vivo whole-cell recordings in unanesthetized mice versus whole-cell recordings in slices or extracellular recordings under urethane), the cell type recorded (L2/3 versus L4 and L5) or the age of the animal can explain these results. For instance, it is conceivable that prolonged Up states in L4 (an initial form of hyper-excitability) lead to higher firing rates in L2/3 neurons (a secondary form of hyperexcitability) without prolonging Up states. Thus, our observations of higher firing rates during Up states in vivo extend previous results in providing evidence of increased cortical excitability in Fmr1 −/− mice and support the theory of impaired inhibition in FXS.