Muscarinic Receptor Isoforms Differentially Regulate the Excitability of Medial Prefrontal Cortex Layer 6 Pyramidal Neurons in CD-1 mice
Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Cholinergic signalling within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays an important modulatory role in mPFC-dependent cognitive functions. This role is mediated by acetylcholine (ACh) activation of nicotinic (nAChR) and muscarinic (mAChR) receptors, which work together to regulate neuron function within the mPFC. Although pyramidal neurons in mPFC layer 6 express nAChRs that have been characterized thoroughly, they also express mAChRs that have not yet been investigated in detail. Using whole-cell electrophysiology in mouse brain sections, this thesis describes a physiological and pharmacological characterization of mAChR function in mPFC layer 6 neurons. ACh activation of mAChRs mediates a transient inhibitory response that is strongest in young postnatal life and mediated by M1, M2, and M3 isoforms, and a prolonged excitatory response that is not developmentally regulated and mediated primarily by M1 and M3 isoforms. To our knowledge, this work describes the first detailed characterization of mAChRs in mPFC layer 6.
Author: Ashutosh Patel
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2899618764