Electrical Coupling and Synchronized Subthreshold Oscillations in the Inferior Olive of the Rhesus Macaque

Abstract

It was debated whether inferior olive (IO) neurons of primates behave as synchronized oscillators as was found for rodents using intracellular, optical, and multielectrode recordings. An inability to resolve this issue using single-Purkinje cell extracellular recordings in monkeys limited our understanding of timing mechanisms in the primate brain. Using dual whole-cell recordings from the IO of young adult rhesus macaques in acutely prepared brainstem slices, our work demonstrates that pairs of primate IO neurons show synchronized oscillations in membrane potential. The findings have strong mechanistic and translational relevance, as IO activation has been implicated in humans' perceptual timing of sensory events and motricity.