Interneurons, spike timing, and perception

Rhythmic gamma oscillations at 30-70 Hz in cortical and hippocampal slices depend on a maintained excitation and on interactions between interneurons and pyramidal cells. These interactions include gap-junctional connections between inhibitory cells and fast excitatory and inhibitory chemical synapses. Spike timing with precision in the range of several ms may be assured by biphasic signaling mechanisms operating at these different connections. Such temporal precision may be important in cognitive processing.