Adult mouse basal forebrain harbors two distinct cholinergic populations defined by their electrophysiology
Open Access
- 1 January 2012
- journal article
- Published by Frontiers Media SA in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
- Vol. 6, 21
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2012.00021
Abstract
We performed whole-cell recordings from basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic neurons in transgenic mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) under the control of the choline acetyltransferase promoter. BF cholinergic neurons can be differentiated into two electrophysiologically identifiable subtypes: early and late firing neurons. Early firing neurons (∼70%) are more excitable, show prominent spike frequency adaptation and are more susceptible to depolarization blockade, a phenomenon characterized by complete silencing of the neuron following initial action potentials. Late firing neurons (∼30%), albeit being less excitable, could maintain a tonic discharge at low frequencies. In voltage clamp analysis, we have shown that early firing neurons have a higher density of low voltage activated (LVA) calcium currents. These two cholinergic cell populations might be involved in distinct functions: the early firing group being more suitable for phasic changes in cortical acetylcholine release associated with attention while the late firing neurons could support general arousal by maintaining tonic acetylcholine levels.Keywords
This publication has 76 references indexed in Scilit:
- Differential expression of voltage-gated K+ currents in medial septum/diagonal band complex neurons exhibiting distinct firing phenotypesNeuroscience Research, 2011
- Timing-Dependent Septal Cholinergic Induction of Dynamic Hippocampal Synaptic PlasticityNeuron, 2011
- Clustering of large cell populations: Method and application to the basal forebrain cholinergic systemJournal of Neuroscience Methods, 2010
- Modes and Models of Forebrain Cholinergic Neuromodulation of CognitionNeuropsychopharmacology, 2010
- Vesicular glutamate transporter 1 and vesicular glutamate transporter 2 synapses on cholinergic neurons in the sublenticular gray of the rat basal forebrain: a double-label electron microscopic studyNeuroscience, 2009
- Basal forebrain activation enhances cortical coding of natural scenesNature Neuroscience, 2009
- Unique clustering of A-type potassium channels on different cell types of the main olfactory bulbEuropean Journal of Neuroscience, 2008
- Neurobiological mechanisms for the regulation of mammalian sleep–wake behavior: Reinterpretation of historical evidence and inclusion of contemporary cellular and molecular evidenceNeuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2007
- Prefrontal Acetylcholine Release Controls Cue Detection on Multiple TimescalesNeuron, 2007
- Electrophysiological and morphological heterogeneity of slow firing neurons in medial septal/diagonal band complex as revealed by cluster analysisNeuroscience, 2007