Pedunculopontine glutamatergic neurons control spike patterning in substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons
- Northwestern University, United States
- Emory University, United States
Abstract
Burst spiking in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) dopaminergic neurons is a key signaling event in the circuitry controlling goal-directed behavior. It is widely believed that this spiking mode depends upon an interaction between synaptic activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) and intrinsic oscillatory mechanisms. However, the role of specific neural networks in burst generation has not been defined. To begin filling this gap, SNc glutamatergic synapses arising from pedunculopotine nucleus (PPN) neurons were characterized using optical and electrophysiological approaches. These synapses were localized exclusively on the soma and proximal dendrites, placing them in a good location to influence spike generation. Indeed, optogenetic stimulation of PPN axons reliably evoked spiking in SNc dopaminergic neurons. Moreover, burst stimulation of PPN axons was faithfully followed, even in the presence of NMDAR antagonists. Thus, PPN-evoked burst spiking of SNc dopaminergic neurons in vivo may not only be extrinsically triggered, but extrinsically patterned as well.
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Author details
Funding
JPB Foundation
- Daniel J Galtieri
- Chad M Estep
- David L Wokosin
- D James Surmeier
IDP Foundation
- Daniel J Galtieri
- Chad M Estep
- David L Wokosin
- D James Surmeier
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
- Daniel J Galtieri
- Chad M Estep
- David L Wokosin
- D James Surmeier
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Ethics
Animal experimentation: All experiments were performed in strict accordance with the guidelines set by the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. All animals were handled according to approved Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocols (IS00001185) of Northwestern University. All procedures were performed under isoflurane or ketamine/xylazine anesthesia, and every effort was made to minimize suffering.
Copyright
© 2017, Galtieri et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Pedunculopontine glutamatergic neurons control spike patterning in substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons
eLife 6:e30352.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.30352
