Two major classes of inhibitory neurons in mouse anterior cingulate cortex, somatostatin and parvalbumin interneurons, form functionally homogeneous populations that are recruited at distinct moments in time and encode unique behavioral variables in a foraging task. The cerebral cortex contains many different classes of inhibitory interneurons, each with different anatomical and physiological properties. Recent technological developments make it possible to determine the functional impact of individual classes. This optogenetic tagging study of mice performing a reward foraging task shows that parvalbumin- and somatostatin-expressing cells, two of largest interneuron populations, respond differently during different phases of the task. These findings suggest a link between circuit-level activity of the different interneuron types in regulating the flow of information flow and the behavioural functions served by the cortical circuits. Neurons in the prefrontal cortex exhibit diverse behavioural correlates1,2,3,4, an observation that has been attributed to cell-type diversity. To link identified neuron types with network and behavioural functions, we recorded from the two largest genetically defined inhibitory interneuron classes, the perisomatically targeting parvalbumin (PV) and the dendritically targeting somatostatin (SOM) neurons5,6,7,8 in anterior cingulate cortex of mice performing a reward foraging task. Here we show that PV and a subtype of SOM neurons form functionally homogeneous populations showing a double dissociation between both their inhibitory effects and behavioural correlates. Out of several events pertaining to behaviour, a subtype of SOM neurons selectively responded at reward approach, whereas PV neurons responded at reward leaving and encoded preceding stay duration. These behavioural correlates of PV and SOM neurons defined a behavioural epoch and a decision variable important for foraging (whether to stay or to leave), a crucial function attributed to the anterior cingulate cortex9,10,11. Furthermore, PV neurons could fire in millisecond synchrony, exerting fast and powerful inhibition on principal cell firing, whereas the inhibitory effect of SOM neurons on firing output was weak and more variable, consistent with the idea that they respectively control the outputs of, and inputs to, principal neurons12,13,14,15,16. These results suggest a connection between the circuit-level function of different interneuron types in regulating the flow of information and the behavioural functions served by the cortical circuits. Moreover, these observations bolster the hope that functional response diversity during behaviour can in part be explained by cell-type diversity.

Distinct behavioural and network correlates of two interneuron types in prefrontal cortex