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Oliver Goral R, Lamb PW, Yakel JL. Acetylcholine Neurons Become Cholinergic during Three Time Windows in the Developing Mouse Brain. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0542-23.2024. [PMID: 38942474 PMCID: PMC11253243 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0542-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 06/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Acetylcholine (ACh) neurons in the central nervous system are required for the coordination of neural network activity during higher brain functions, such as attention, learning, and memory, as well as locomotion. Disturbed cholinergic signaling has been described in many neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Furthermore, cotransmission of other signaling molecules, such as glutamate and GABA, with ACh has been associated with essential roles in brain function or disease. However, it is unknown when ACh neurons become cholinergic during development. Thus, understanding the timeline of how the cholinergic system develops and becomes active in the healthy brain is a crucial part of understanding brain development. To study this, we used transgenic mice to selectively label ACh neurons with tdTomato. We imaged serial sectioned brains and generated whole-brain reconstructions at different time points during pre- and postnatal development. We found three crucial time windows-two in the prenatal and one in the postnatal brain-during which most ACh neuron populations become cholinergic in the brain. We also found that cholinergic gene expression is initiated in cortical ACh interneurons, while the cerebral cortex is innervated by cholinergic projection neurons from the basal forebrain. Taken together, we show that ACh neuron populations are present and become cholinergic before postnatal day 12, which is the onset of major sensory processes, such as hearing and vision. We conclude that the birth of ACh neurons and initiation of cholinergic gene expression are temporally separated during development but highly coordinated by brain anatomical structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rene Oliver Goral
- Neurobiology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709
- Center on Compulsive Behaviors, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
| | - Patricia W Lamb
- Neurobiology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709
| | - Jerrel L Yakel
- Neurobiology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709
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2
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Tan T, Jiang L, He Z, Ding X, Xiong X, Tang M, Chen Y, Tang Y. NR1 Splicing Variant NR1a in Cerebellar Granule Neurons Constitutes a Better Motor Learning in the Mouse. CEREBELLUM (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2024; 23:1112-1120. [PMID: 37880519 PMCID: PMC11102416 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-023-01614-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
As an excitatory neuron in the cerebellum, the granule cells play a crucial role in motor learning. The assembly of NMDAR in these neurons varies in developmental stages, while the significance of this variety is still not clear. In this study, we found that motor training could specially upregulate the expression level of NR1a, a splicing form of NR1 subunit. Interestingly, overexpression of this splicing variant in a cerebellar granule cell-specific manner dramatically elevated the NMDAR binding activity. Furthermore, the NR1a transgenic mice did not only show an enhanced motor learning, but also exhibit a higher efficacy for motor training in motor learning. Our results suggested that as a "junior" receptor, NR1a facilitates NMDAR activity as well as motor skill learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Tan
- Neurobiology Research Center, School of Medicine, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China
- Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Institute of Pediatrics, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510623, China
| | - Linyan Jiang
- Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Institute of Pediatrics, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510623, China
| | - Zhengxiao He
- Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Institute of Pediatrics, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510623, China
| | - Xuejiao Ding
- Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Institute of Pediatrics, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510623, China
| | - Xiaoli Xiong
- Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Institute of Pediatrics, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510623, China
| | - Mingxi Tang
- Department of Pathology, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, Sichuan, China.
| | - Yuan Chen
- Neurobiology Research Center, School of Medicine, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China.
| | - Yaping Tang
- Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou Institute of Pediatrics, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510623, China.
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Fleming EA, Field GD, Tadross MR, Hull C. Local synaptic inhibition mediates cerebellar granule cell pattern separation and enables learned sensorimotor associations. Nat Neurosci 2024; 27:689-701. [PMID: 38321293 PMCID: PMC11288180 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01565-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
The cerebellar cortex has a key role in generating predictive sensorimotor associations. To do so, the granule cell layer is thought to establish unique sensorimotor representations for learning. However, how this is achieved and how granule cell population responses contribute to behavior have remained unclear. To address these questions, we have used in vivo calcium imaging and granule cell-specific pharmacological manipulation of synaptic inhibition in awake, behaving mice. These experiments indicate that inhibition sparsens and thresholds sensory responses, limiting overlap between sensory ensembles and preventing spiking in many granule cells that receive excitatory input. Moreover, inhibition can be recruited in a stimulus-specific manner to powerfully decorrelate multisensory ensembles. Consistent with these results, granule cell inhibition is required for accurate cerebellum-dependent sensorimotor behavior. These data thus reveal key mechanisms for granule cell layer pattern separation beyond those envisioned by classical models.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Greg D Field
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, USA
- Stein Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michael R Tadross
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Court Hull
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC, USA.
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Abstract
The cerebellar cortex is an important system for relating neural circuits and learning. Its promise reflects the longstanding idea that it contains simple, repeated circuit modules with only a few cell types and a single plasticity mechanism that mediates learning according to classical Marr-Albus models. However, emerging data have revealed surprising diversity in neuron types, synaptic connections, and plasticity mechanisms, both locally and regionally within the cerebellar cortex. In light of these findings, it is not surprising that attempts to generate a holistic model of cerebellar learning across different behaviors have not been successful. While the cerebellum remains an ideal system for linking neuronal function with behavior, it is necessary to update the cerebellar circuit framework to achieve its great promise. In this review, we highlight recent advances in our understanding of cerebellar-cortical cell types, synaptic connections, signaling mechanisms, and forms of plasticity that enrich cerebellar processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Court Hull
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA;
| | - Wade G Regehr
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA;
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Nicotine depresses facial stimulation-evoked molecular layer interneuron-Purkinje cell synaptic transmission via α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in mouse cerebellar cortex. Eur J Pharmacol 2022; 920:174854. [PMID: 35231469 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2022.174854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Revised: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Nicotine modulates cerebellar physiology function by interacting with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and is involved in modulation of cerebellar cortical circuitry functions. Here, we investigated the effect of nicotine on sensory stimulation-evoked molecular layer interneuron-Purkinje cell (MLI-PC) synaptic transmission mouse cerebellar cortex using in vivo cell-attached recording technique and pharmacological methods. The results show that micro-application of nicotine to the cerebellar molecular layer significantly decreased sensory stimulation-evoked MLI-PC synaptic transmission in mouse cerebellar cortex. Nicotine-induced depression in sensory stimulation-evoked MLI-PC synaptic transmission was abolished by either a non-selective nAChR blocker, hexamethonium, or the α7-nAChR antagonist methyllycaconitine (MLA), but not the selective α4β2-nAChR antagonist dihydro-β-erythroidine. Notably, molecular layer micro-application of nicotine did not significantly affect the number of spontaneous or facial stimulation-evoked action potentials of MLIs. Moreover, nicotine produced significant increases in the amplitude and frequency of miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents of PCs, which were abolished by MLA in cerebellar slices. These results indicate that micro-application of nicotine to the cerebellar molecular layer depresses facial stimulation-induced MLI-PC synaptic transmission by activating α7 nAChRs, suggesting that cholinergic inputs modulate MLI-PC synapses to process sensory information in the cerebellar cortex of mice in vivo.
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Mazere J, Dilharreguy B, Catheline G, Vidailhet M, Deffains M, Vimont D, Ribot B, Barse E, Cif L, Mazoyer B, Langbour N, Pisani A, Allard M, Lamare F, Guehl D, Fernandez P, Burbaud P. Striatal and cerebellar vesicular acetylcholine transporter expression is disrupted in human DYT1 dystonia. Brain 2021; 144:909-923. [PMID: 33638639 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awaa465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 10/03/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Early-onset torsion dystonia (TOR1A/DYT1) is a devastating hereditary motor disorder whose pathophysiology remains unclear. Studies in transgenic mice suggested abnormal cholinergic transmission in the putamen, but this has not yet been demonstrated in humans. The role of the cerebellum in the pathophysiology of the disease has also been highlighted but the involvement of the intrinsic cerebellar cholinergic system is unknown. In this study, cholinergic neurons were imaged using PET with 18F-fluoroethoxybenzovesamicol, a radioligand of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT). Here, we found an age-related decrease in VAChT expression in the posterior putamen and caudate nucleus of DYT1 patients versus matched controls, with low expression in young but not in older patients. In the cerebellar vermis, VAChT expression was also significantly decreased in patients versus controls, but independently of age. Functional connectivity within the motor network studied in MRI and the interregional correlation of VAChT expression studied in PET were also altered in patients. These results show that the cholinergic system is disrupted in the brain of DYT1 patients and is modulated over time through plasticity or compensatory mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joachim Mazere
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, CHU de Bordeaux, France.,Institute of Cognitive and Integrative Neurosciences, CNRS UMR 5287, Bordeaux University, F33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Bixente Dilharreguy
- Institute of Cognitive and Integrative Neurosciences, CNRS UMR 5287, Bordeaux University, F33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Gwenaëlle Catheline
- Institute of Cognitive and Integrative Neurosciences, CNRS UMR 5287, Bordeaux University, F33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Marie Vidailhet
- Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière (ICM) UMR 1127, hôpital de la Pitié-Salpétrière, Department of Neurology, AP-HP, Sorbonne Université, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Marc Deffains
- Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives (IMN, CNRS U5393), Université de Bordeaux, 33076, Bordeaux, France
| | - Delphine Vimont
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, CHU de Bordeaux, France.,Institute of Cognitive and Integrative Neurosciences, CNRS UMR 5287, Bordeaux University, F33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Bastien Ribot
- Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives (IMN, CNRS U5393), Université de Bordeaux, 33076, Bordeaux, France
| | - Elodie Barse
- Institute of Cognitive and Integrative Neurosciences, CNRS UMR 5287, Bordeaux University, F33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Laura Cif
- Department of Neurosurgery, CHU de Montpellier, 34000, France
| | - Bernard Mazoyer
- Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives (IMN, CNRS U5393), Université de Bordeaux, 33076, Bordeaux, France
| | - Nicolas Langbour
- Centre de Recherche en Psychiatrie, CH de la Milétrie, 86000, Poitiers, France
| | - Antonio Pisani
- Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Italy.,IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Michèle Allard
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, CHU de Bordeaux, France.,Institute of Cognitive and Integrative Neurosciences, CNRS UMR 5287, Bordeaux University, F33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Frédéric Lamare
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, CHU de Bordeaux, France.,Institute of Cognitive and Integrative Neurosciences, CNRS UMR 5287, Bordeaux University, F33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Dominique Guehl
- Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives (IMN, CNRS U5393), Université de Bordeaux, 33076, Bordeaux, France.,Service de Neurophysiologie Clinique, Pôle des Neurosciences Cliniques, CHU de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
| | - Philippe Fernandez
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, CHU de Bordeaux, France.,Institute of Cognitive and Integrative Neurosciences, CNRS UMR 5287, Bordeaux University, F33000, Bordeaux, France
| | - Pierre Burbaud
- Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives (IMN, CNRS U5393), Université de Bordeaux, 33076, Bordeaux, France.,Service de Neurophysiologie Clinique, Pôle des Neurosciences Cliniques, CHU de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
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Tang Y, An L, Wang Q, Liu JK. Regulating synchronous oscillations of cerebellar granule cells by different types of inhibition. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009163. [PMID: 34181653 PMCID: PMC8270418 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Synchronous oscillations in neural populations are considered being controlled by inhibitory neurons. In the granular layer of the cerebellum, two major types of cells are excitatory granular cells (GCs) and inhibitory Golgi cells (GoCs). GC spatiotemporal dynamics, as the output of the granular layer, is highly regulated by GoCs. However, there are various types of inhibition implemented by GoCs. With inputs from mossy fibers, GCs and GoCs are reciprocally connected to exhibit different network motifs of synaptic connections. From the view of GCs, feedforward inhibition is expressed as the direct input from GoCs excited by mossy fibers, whereas feedback inhibition is from GoCs via GCs themselves. In addition, there are abundant gap junctions between GoCs showing another form of inhibition. It remains unclear how these diverse copies of inhibition regulate neural population oscillation changes. Leveraging a computational model of the granular layer network, we addressed this question to examine the emergence and modulation of network oscillation using different types of inhibition. We show that at the network level, feedback inhibition is crucial to generate neural oscillation. When short-term plasticity was equipped on GoC-GC synapses, oscillations were largely diminished. Robust oscillations can only appear with additional gap junctions. Moreover, there was a substantial level of cross-frequency coupling in oscillation dynamics. Such a coupling was adjusted and strengthened by GoCs through feedback inhibition. Taken together, our results suggest that the cooperation of distinct types of GoC inhibition plays an essential role in regulating synchronous oscillations of the GC population. With GCs as the sole output of the granular network, their oscillation dynamics could potentially enhance the computational capability of downstream neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanhong Tang
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an, China
| | - Lingling An
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an, China
- Guangzhou institute of technology, Xidian University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Quan Wang
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an, China
| | - Jian K. Liu
- Centre for Systems Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
- School of Computing, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
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Rhee JK, Park H, Kim T, Yamamoto Y, Tanaka-Yamamoto K. Projection-dependent heterogeneity of cerebellar granule cell calcium responses. Mol Brain 2021; 14:63. [PMID: 33789707 PMCID: PMC8011397 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-021-00773-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cerebellar granule cells (GCs) relay mossy fiber (MF) inputs to Purkinje cell dendrites via their axons, the parallel fibers (PFs), which are individually located at a given sublayer of the molecular layer (ML). Although a certain degree of heterogeneity among GCs has been recently reported, variability of GC responses to MF inputs has never been associated with their most notable structural variability, location of their projecting PFs in the ML. Here, we utilize an adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated labeling technique that enables us to categorize GCs according to the location of their PFs, and compare the Ca2+ responses to MF stimulations between three groups of GCs, consisting of either GCs having PFs at the deep (D-GCs), middle (M-GCs), or superficial (S-GCs) sublayer. Our structural analysis revealed that there was no correlation between position of GC soma in the GC layer and location of its PF in the ML, confirming that our AAV-mediated labeling was important to test the projection-dependent variability of the Ca2+ responses in GCs. We then found that the Ca2+ responses of D-GCs differed from those of M-GCs. Pharmacological experiments implied that the different Ca2+ responses were mainly attributable to varied distributions of GABAA receptors (GABAARs) at the synaptic and extrasynaptic regions of GC dendrites. In addition to GABAAR distributions, amounts of extrasynaptic NMDA receptors appear to be also varied, because Ca2+ responses were different between D-GCs and M-GCs when glutamate spillover was enhanced. Whereas the Ca2+ responses of S-GCs were mostly equivalent to those of D-GCs and M-GCs, the blockade of GABA uptake resulted in larger Ca2+ responses in S-GCs compared with D-GCs and M-GCs, implying existence of mechanisms leading to more excitability in S-GCs with increased GABA release. Thus, this study reveals MF stimulation-mediated non-uniform Ca2+ responses in the cerebellar GCs associated with the location of their PFs in the ML, and raises a possibility that combination of inherent functional variability of GCs and their specific axonal projection contributes to the information processing through the GCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Kyu Rhee
- Center for Functional Connectomics, Brain Science Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, 02792, Republic of Korea.,Division of Bio-Medical Science and Technology, KIST School, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), Seoul, 02792, Republic of Korea
| | - Heeyoun Park
- Center for Functional Connectomics, Brain Science Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, 02792, Republic of Korea
| | - Taegon Kim
- Center for Functional Connectomics, Brain Science Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, 02792, Republic of Korea.
| | - Yukio Yamamoto
- Center for Functional Connectomics, Brain Science Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, 02792, Republic of Korea.
| | - Keiko Tanaka-Yamamoto
- Center for Functional Connectomics, Brain Science Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, 02792, Republic of Korea.
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