Tuning excitatory input to fast-spiking parvalbumin-positive interneurons: a lever for plasticity and hyperexcitability across the lifespan
Alfredo Kirkwood
Experience reshapes cortical circuits, yet plasticity is tightly gated—high during early critical periods and increasingly constrained with maturation. Later in life, aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) create a growing demand to restrain network hyperactivity. Across these contexts, excitatory drive onto parvalbumin-positive fast-spiking interneurons (PVs)—shaped by synaptic organizers such as NPTX2—offers a control point for tuning inhibitory tone while preserving fast, precise inhibition. We o