Francesca Talpo

Oxytocin (OT) is a neuropeptide that modulates social-related behavior and cognition in the central nervous system of mammals. In the CA1 area of the hippocampus, the indirect effects of the OT on the pyramidal neurons and their role in information processing have been elucidated. However, limited data are available concerning the direct modulation exerted by OT on the CA1 interneurons (INs) expressing the oxytocin receptor (OTR). Here, we demonstrated that TGOT (Thr4,Gly7-oxytocin), a selective OTR agonist, affects not only the membrane potential and the firing frequency but also the neuronal excitability and the shape of the action potentials (APs) of these INs in mice. Furthermore, we constructed linear mixed-effects models (LMMs) to unravel the dependencies between the AP parameters and the firing frequency, also considering how TGOT can interact with them to strengthen or weaken these influences. Our analyses indicate that OT regulates the functionality of the CA1 GABAergic INs through different and independent mechanisms. Specifically, the increase in neuronal firing rate can be attributed to the depolarizing effect on the membrane potential and the related enhancement in cellular excitability by the peptide. In contrast, the significant changes in the AP shape are directly linked to oxytocinergic modulation. Importantly, these alterations in AP shape are not associated with the TGOT-induced increase in neuronal firing rate, being themselves critical for signal processing.