Neocortical layer 1 is a major site of convergence for a variety of brain wide afferents carrying experience-dependent top-down information, which are integrated and processed in the apical tuft dendrites of pyramidal cells. Two types of local inhibitory interneurons, Martinotti cells and layer 1 interneurons, dominantly shape dendritic integration, and work from recent years has significantly advanced our understanding of the role of these interneurons in circuit plasticity and learning. Both cell types instruct plasticity in local pyramidal cells, and are themselves subject to robust plastic changes. Despite these similarities, the emerging hypothesis is that they fulfill different, and potentially opposite roles, as they receive different inputs, employ distinct inhibitory dynamics and are implicated in different behavioral contexts.

新皮质层1是汇聚各种脑部传入神经的主要场所，这些传入神经携带依赖于经验的自上而下的信息，这些信息在锥体细胞的顶端簇状树突中被整合和处理。两种局部抑制性中间神经元，Martinotti细胞和第1层中间神经元，主要形成树突状整合体，近年来的工作显着提高了我们对这些中间神经元在电路可塑性和学习中的作用的理解。两种细胞类型都指示局部锥体细胞的可塑性，并且它们本身会经历强大的塑性变化。尽管存在这些相似之处，但新出现的假设是它们承担着不同的角色，并且可能承担相反的角色，因为它们接受不同的输入，采用不同的抑制动力学并涉及不同的行为环境。