Abstract
Spontaneous activity (SA) modulates many aspects of neural development, including neuronal phenotype, axon path-finding and synaptic connectivity. In the embryonic mouse brainstem, SA initially is recorded in isolated cells at embryonic day (E) 9.5, and 48 h later takes the form of propagating waves. The majority of these waves originate from one midline initiation zone (InZ), which is situated within the developing serotonergic raphe. InZ cells express a t-type calcium channel, are depolarized, and have high membrane resistance, the combination of which allows spontaneous depolarization. Propagating events require signaling at metabotropic 5-HT receptors; a possible source could be 5-HT released by newly differentiating 5-HT neurons. At E11.5, waves propagate throughout the hindbrain, with some events crossing into the midbrain. At E12.5, lateral cells (further than 150 μm from the midline) up-regulate expression of a K channel that increases resting conductance and hyperpolarizes them, preventing the propagation of waves laterally. At the same stage, cells in the isthmus up-regulate t-type calcium channels, permitting more events to cross into the midbrain, some of which form recurring loops of activity that are able to keep intracellular calcium levels high for many minutes. At E13.5, caudal hindbrain cells hyperpolarize utilizing the same K conductance, and 24 h later, at E14.5, the InZ hyperpolarizes and no longer undergoes spontaneous events. Thus, 5-HT receptor-dependent propagating waves in the embryonic brainstem are generated and propagated by regulation of membrane conductance. We discuss these mechanisms, and the possible role of this SA in neuronal development.
Introduction
Spontaneous activity (SA) in the developing brain influences proliferation, specification and synaptic connectivity of neurons during formation of brain circuits (Moody and Bosma, ; Blankenship and Feller, ; Rosenberg and Spitzer, ). Our lab has explored the expression patterns and mechanisms of SA in the embryonic mouse brainstem during the period of neuronal specification, differentiation and axon pathfinding within that structure. This review will cover the known mechanisms regulating brainstem SA, highlighting the unique attributes of SA at each stage.
The brainstem comprises neurons involved in sensory input, motor control (cranial nerves), respiratory control, modulatory neurotransmitter control (dopamine, serotonin, histamine and norepinephrine), as well as axon tracts connecting the spinal cord to the rostral CNS. The pons and medulla derive from the rhombencephalon, or hindbrain, which initially is segregated into rhombomeres (r), units of development that assign lineage identity early in development. Upon dissolution of rhombomere (r) borders at embryonic day (E) 11.5, propagating waves of SA are recorded in the brainstem (Hunt et al., ). Most SA events (>80%) originate at the midline of the hindbrain near the r2/3 boundary, at a position that we term the initiation zone (InZ; * in Figures 1, 2). Brainstem SA is dependent on signaling through metabotropic 5-HT receptors (5-HT2A/C). Propagating SA is expressed between E11.5-E14.5, with the majority of waves initiated from the InZ at all stages. Midline-derived SA does not change when the spinal cord remains attached during recording, and although occurring at similar times to pre-respiratory correlated network oscillations (Abadie et al., ), is distinct both in timing and in mechanism of initiation.
Figure 1
Figure 2

Looping pattern of SA at E12.5. Left Looping pattern near the isthmus shows event initiating at the InZ (*), propagating towards the isthmus and looping counterclockwise in the isthmus. After exiting the midbrain (at 7.4 s), the wave splits, with one branch re-activating the same isthmic trigger point (9.8 s) and the other branch propagating caudally along the midline. At 11.1–13.5 s, the rostral branch loops again in the midbrain. Scale bar = 100 μm. Inset. Diagram of brainstem, showing rhombomere (r) boundaries and location of 5-HT neurons in the hindbrain. (A) Looping can take two patterns, either within the hindbrain (left diagram, and more rapid [Ca]i oscillations) or crossing into the midbrain tegmentum (right diagram and slower [Ca]i oscillations); looping into the midbrain causes repetitive calcium influx in the region of differentiating dopaminergic cells. Traces show fluorescence from different recording regions along the midline of the brainstem. Time scale = 6 s. (B1) Diagram of brainstem, detailing region in box at 4.9 s timepoint, showing the location of the developing raphe serotonergic (green, hindbrain) and tegmental dopaminergic (blue, midbrain) neurons at E12.5. White lines indicate the locations of the former rhombomeres (r1–r7) in the hindbrain. Scale bar = 1 mm. (B2) Detail of the midline and isthmus shows the pathways of serotonin axons (green), putative carriers of [Ca]i events on two parallel tracks flanking the midline (Rockhill et al.,
Developmental Timing of Brainstem SA
At E9.5–10.5, asynchronous [Ca]i events are recorded in isolated cells (Gust et al.,
Identity of InZ Neurons
At E11.5, over 80% of events initiate in the InZ; waves then propagate to encompass the entire hindbrain (Hunt et al.,
Mechanisms of Event Initiation
InZ cells undergo spontaneous depolarizing events that are graded in amplitude; using dual patch clamp, we demonstrated that these events propagate laterally (Moruzzi et al.,
Events in the hindbrain are graded in amplitude, and vary across the tissue: the most rapid component recorded in midline cells is longer than 50 ms, while the plateaus range in duration from 700 ms (medially) to 1540 ms (laterally). These long-duration events are similar to depolarizing events in the earliest stage of retinal wave expression, in which starburst amacrine cells, acting through a combination of nAChR and gap junctional connections, undergo spontaneous depolarizations 1–2 s in duration (Zheng et al.,
Transmitter Dependence
SA in the hindbrain is dependent on signaling by metabotropic 5-HT receptors; this is the only CNS structure that has developmental SA dependence on this neurotransmitter. Agonists at the ionotropic/metabotropic GABA, ACh or Glu receptors can modulate the amplitude or frequency of SA, but blockers at those receptors do not influence SA, suggesting that those transmitter systems are not required for SA (Hunt et al.,
Spontaneous propagating waves in the retina change in transmitter sensitivity as the retina develops (nACh + adenosine early, iGluR + mACh later); however, even with transmitter switching, a combination of ionotropic and metabotropic receptor activation leads to a relatively consistent velocities of waves over the time period of SA (Firth et al.,
Propagation
Events initiating at the InZ propagate into surrounding regions: waves with high calcium intensity move rostrally and caudally along the midline, while waves with lower calcium intensity propagate laterally (Figure 1). At E11.5, waves traveling rostral to caudal from the InZ propagate at 174 ± 16.6 μm/s, while those moving caudal to rostral propagate twice as fast (397 ± 6.45 μm/s; Hunt et al.,
At E13.5, the frequency of SA waves is decreased, propagation in the caudal to rostral midline is less frequent than at E11.5, and the propagation speed in each direction is 125 μm/s, demonstrating that the mechanism of rapid rostral-ward propagation has disappeared at this stage (Hunt et al.,
Hindbrain SA is mediated in part by gap junction channels, as non-specific inhibitors of those channels block the waves of activity (Hunt et al.,
We postulate that SA event propagation derives from a combination of 5-HT2A/C receptor signaling and gap junctional coupling, with the two mechanisms differing in importance at different positions. In midline cells, t-type Ca channels initiate depolarizing events; these cells have relatively high input resistance, and at E11.5 are relatively depolarized. Wave invasion into midline cells may be attributed to gap junctional conduction between the few cells (average cluster size is 8.42 ± 0.74 cells), as even a small junctional current could lead to depolarization and propagation of the event in the similarly high-resistance follower cells. Electrical events in single midline cells have a rapid phase, followed by a sustained plateau of depolarization; we postulate that the rapid phase is mediated by inactivating t-type Ca channel currents (Moruzzi et al.,
Less intense waves moving into lateral regions propagate at 241 ± 18 μm/s (n = 11; Hunt et al.,
Retraction and Cessation of SA
Waves of activity propagate within the entire hindbrain at E11.5, moving both along the midline and into lateral regions (encompassing trigeminal and facial motor neurons; Gust et al.,
Recordings within each area demonstrated gradual up-regulation of a K conductance leading to spatiotemporal hyperpolarization of the hindbrain, beginning in lateral regions and ending at the InZ (Figures 1D,E; Watari et al.,
The termination of SA in the brainstem, via K-conductance induced hyperpolarization, is unique when compared to other regions where SA has been recorded. In other systems (hippocampus, cortex), SA ends when an excitatory input (depolarizing GABA) becomes inhibitory as the adult form of the Cl- gradient is established, or when transmitter systems mature. In mouse spinal cord, the interval between spontaneous episodes increases between E11.5–14.5 (Hanson and Landmesser,
Midbrain SA and Looping
SA waves initiated at the InZ propagate caudally before ceasing near the rostral end of the spinal cord. At the rostral end of the hindbrain, waves approach the isthmus, the hindbrain/midbrain border. A substantial proportion of hindbrain-initiated waves propagate across the isthmus into the ventral tegmentum, and from there, dorsolaterally into the tectum (Rockhill et al.,
In 80% of the E12.5 litters, waves in half of the embryos demonstrate a looping pattern (Figure 2); in these InZ-initiated events, waves propagate faster along one side of the midline, which has two distinct tracks. At the isthmus, the leading side of the event crosses into the midbrain and exits out the isthmus into the other track. The event can subsequently re-activate the isthmic region, causing repetitive loops of excitation that move either across the midbrain tegmentum (loops of 5–6 s duration), or cross the midline within the most rostral region of the hindbrain (loops of 3 s duration; Figure 2A). These repeated loops of activity can last for more than 20–30 min. The defining characteristic of these loops is the onset of a new event before the previous event dissipates via [Ca]i extrusion or re-uptake, effectively leaving [Ca]i at relatively high levels for the duration of the loop (Watari et al.,
Discussion
Propagating waves of SA are independent of sensory input or higher commands, and in many brain states, would not be compatible with adult information processing. Hindbrain and midbrain cells that previously participated in waves of SA alter their embryonic forms of excitability as they become mature. Interestingly, the cells do not appear to simply downregulate the original conductance that allowed participation in the waves, as K-induced depolarization of the newly quiescent hindbrain at E15.5 allows spontaneous events that propagate in the midline in a manner similar to that seen during the period of SA. Thus, up-regulation of a resting conductance is an elegant way to for cells to transition from embryonic to mature physiological activity, while allowing them to use channels involved in excitation when appropriate to do so.
The expression of SA in the brainstem during differentiation and axon extension of different classes and types of neurons suggests that propagating waves may influence maturation steps of these cells. We are using cultured explants of tissue to determine what role SA plays in specification, differentiation or axonal pathfinding of neurons that experience these waves.
Funding
Supported by: NSF grant #IOS-095295; NIH grant #MH104773-02.
Statements
Ethics statement
Experiments reported here were carried out on a protocol that was reviewed and approved by the University of Washington IACUC, according to their guidelines.
Author contributions
MMB designed the research, performed experiments, performed analysis and interpretation of the data and prepared the manuscript.
Conflict of interest
The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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Summary
Keywords
brainstem, embryo, mammalian, serotonin, mouse model, wave propagation
Citation
Bosma MM (2017) Regulation of Spontaneous Propagating Waves in the Embryonic Mouse Brainstem. Front. Neural Circuits 10:110. doi: 10.3389/fncir.2016.00110
Received
10 October 2016
Accepted
15 December 2016
Published
04 January 2017
Volume
10 - 2016
Edited by
Joel C. Glover, University of Oslo, Norway
Reviewed by
Yoko Momose-Sato, Kanto Gakuin University, Japan; Pascal Branchereau, University of Bordeaux, France
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© 2017 Bosma.
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*Correspondence: Martha M. Bosma martibee@uw.edu
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