Cholinergics contribute to the cellular mechanisms of deep brain stimulation applied in rat infralimbic cortex but not white matter

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subcallosal cingulate gyrus (SCG) is a promising therapy for treatment-resistant depression. Pre-clinical models have been widely used to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying its antidepressant benefit. The ventral division of the medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), particularly the infralimbic cortex (IL), is the homologous region in rat and DBS applied to vmPFC shows antidepressant-like effects in the forced swim test. Therefore we investigated the cellular mechanisms of simulated DBS (sDBS) in layer 5 IL neurons, using in vitro whole-cell patch clamp recordings. sDBS in IL layer 5 induced a prolonged after-depolarization (ADP) in both pyramidal and fast spiking neurons, which was dependent on current amplitude and pulse width. In contrast, sDBS applied in the forebrain white matter fibers, although delivered at a higher intensity, failed to induce any persistent depolarization in layer 5 IL pyramidal neurons. Cholinergic blockade (atropine, 2.0 µM) decreased both the ADP amplitude and duration in pyramidal neurons, but left those in fast spiking neurons unchanged. These data suggest that: (i) sDBS in IL gray and white matter produced different cellular effects on pyramidal neurons; (ii) sDBS-induced ADP in pyramidal, but not fast spiking neurons, was mediated by acetylcholine; and (iii) different neuromodulators may contribute to sDBS-induced ADP in IL. In summary, cholinergic mediated ADP in pyramidal neurons may contribute to the antidepressant effects of DBS in IL.