Language
English
Publication Date
8-1-2025
Journal
Nature Neuroscience
DOI
10.1038/s41593-025-02004-2
PMID
40721677
PMCID
PMC12321573
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
7-28-2025
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Abstract
Despite significant progress in characterizing neocortical cell types, a complete understanding of the synaptic connections of individual excitatory cells remains elusive. This study investigates the connectivity of mouse visual cortex thick tufted layer 5 pyramidal cells, also known as extratelencephalic neurons (L5-ETns), using a 1 mm3 publicly available electron microscopy dataset. The analysis reveals that, in their immediate vicinity, L5-ETns primarily establish connections with a group of inhibitory cell types, which, in turn, specifically target the L5-ETns back. The most common excitatory targets of L5-ETns are layer 5 intertelencephalic neurons (L5-ITns) and layer 6 (L6) pyramidal cells, whereas synapses with other L5-ETns are less common. When L5-ETns extend their axons to other cortical regions, they tend to connect more with excitatory cells. Our results highlight a circuit motif where a subclass of excitatory cells forms a subcircuit with specific inhibitory cell types. This is achieved using a publicly available, automated approach for synapse recognition and automated cell typing, offering a framework for exploring the connectivity of other neuron types.
Keywords
Animals, Visual Cortex, Synapses, Mice, Pyramidal Cells, Neurons, Male, Neural circuits, Electron microscopy, Synaptic transmission
Published Open-Access
yes
Recommended Citation
Bodor, Agnes L; Schneider-Mizell, Casey M; Zhang, Chi; et al., "The Synaptic Architecture of Layer 5 Thick Tufted Excitatory Neurons in Mouse Visual Cortex" (2025). Faculty and Staff Publications. 5321.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/5321