Giorgio A. Ascoli, Lidia Alonso-Nanclares, Stewart A. Anderson, German Barrionuevo, Ruth Benavides-Piccione, Andreas Burkhalter, Gyoergy Buzsaki, Bruno Cauli, Javier DeFelipe, Alfonso Fairen, Dirk Feldmeyer, Gord Fishell, Yves Fregnac, Tamas F. Freund, Daniel Gardner, Esther P. Gardner, Jesse H. Goldberg, Moritz Helmstaedter, Shaul Hestrin, Fuyuki Karube, Zoltan F. Kisvarday, Bertrand Lambolez, David A. Lewis, Oscar Marin, Henry Markram, Alberto Munoz, Adam Packer, Carl C. H. Petersen, Kathleen S. Rockland, Jean Rossier, Bernardo Rudy, Peter Somogyi, Jochen F. Staiger, Gabor Tamas, Alex M. Thomson, Maria Toledo-Rodriguez, Yun Wang, David C. West, Rafael Yuste
NATURE REVIEWS NEUROSCIENCE 9 (7) 557 - 568 1471-003X 2008/07
[Refereed][Not invited] Neuroscience produces a vast amount of data from an enormous diversity of neurons. A neuronal classification system is essential to organize such data and the knowledge that is derived from them. Classification depends on the unequivocal identification of the features that distinguish one type of neuron from another. The problems inherent in this are particularly acute when studying cortical interneurons. To tackle this, we convened a representative group of researchers to agree on a set of terms to describe the anatomical, physiological and molecular features of GABAergic interneurons of the cerebral cortex. The resulting terminology might provide a stepping stone towards a future classification of these complex and heterogeneous cells. Consistent adoption will be important for the success of such an initiative, and we also encourage the active involvement of the broader scientific community in the dynamic evolution of this project.