Pre- and postsynaptic mechanisms of neuronal inhibition assessed through biochemically detailed modelling of GABAB receptor signalling

GABA B receptors (GABA B Rs) are an important building block in neural activity. Despite their widely hypothesized role in many basic neuronal functions and mental disorder symptomatology, there is a lack of biophysically and biochemically detailed models of these receptors and the way they mediate neuronal inhibition. Here, we developed a computational model for the activation of GABA B Rs and its effects on the activation of G protein-coupled inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels as well as inhibition of voltage-gated Ca 2+ channels. To ensure the generality of our modelling framework, we fit our model to electrophysiological data including patch-clamp and intracellular recordings that described both pre- and postsynaptic effects of the receptor activation. We validated our model using data on postsynaptic effects of GABA B Rs on layer V pyramidal cell firing activity ex vivo and in vivo and confirmed the strong impact of dendritic GIRK channel activation on the neuron output. Finally, we reproduced and dissected the effects of a knockout of RGS7 (a G protein signalling protein) on CA1 pyramidal cell electrophysiological properties, which shows the potential of our model in generating insights on genetic manipulations of the GABA B R system and related genetic variants. Our model thus provides a flexible tool for biochemically and biophysically detailed simulations of different aspects of GABA B R activation that can reveal both foundational principles of neuronal dynamics and brain disorder-associated traits and treatment options. Significant Statement GABAB receptors (GABABRs) play a crucial role in brain function, mediating slow inhibition in neurons. However, their complex mechanisms and interactions with other proteins have been poorly understood. Our study presents a detailed computational model that simulates how GABABRs work, particularly their impact on potassium and calcium channels in neurons. By analyzing real data from experiments, we verified our model's accuracy and demonstrated how it can predict the effects of genetic changes. This model offers valuable insights into the basic processes that govern brain function and has the potential to guide research into treatments for mental health issues, providing a new avenue for understanding and addressing these complex disorders.