Use-dependent regulation of the axonal action potential in parvalbumin-expressing interneurons

The action potential (AP) is thought to be generated at the axon initial segment and to faithfully propagate along the axon. However, data from both invertebrate and mammalian systems show that the axon is an underappreciated locus of activity modulation and neuronal computation. We assessed axonal AP propagation in neocortical parvalbumin-expressing interneurons (PVINs) during prolonged, high-frequency activity through paired whole-cell somatic and axon-attached patch clamp recordings in acute brain slices from mouse and human. We found that PV-IN axonal AP propagation remains robust during prolonged activity at moderate frequencies, such as during the entrainment to PV-IN firing patterns recorded in awake, behaving mice in vivo. However, prolonged, high-frequency activity during evoked trains of APs and during seizure-like events resulted in changes in the waveform of the axonal (but not somatic) AP, at least in part due to intrinsic use-dependent mechanisms. This use-dependent decrement in the axonal AP waveform is associated with decreases in calcium influx at PV-IN boutons and subsequent PV-IN-mediated synaptic transmission, indicating this phenomenon may lead to a dissociation between somatic and axonal excitability that could shape PV-IN contributions to circuit dynamics during periods of high activity.