glutamatergic neurons

The circadian clock and neural circuits maintaining body fluid homeostasis

Neurons in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN, the brain’s master circadian clock) display a 24 hour cycle in the their rate of action potential discharge whereby firing rates are high during the light phase and lower during the dark phase. Although it is generally agreed that this cycle of activity is a key mediator of the clock’s neural and humoral output, surprisingly little is known about how changes in clock electrical activity can mediate scheduled physiological changes at different times of day. Using opto- and chemogenetic approaches in mice we have shown that the onset of electrical activity in vasopressin releasing SCN neurons near Zeitgeber time 22 (ZT22) activates glutamatergic thirst-promoting neurons in the OVLT (organum vasculosum lamina terminalis) to promote water intake prior to sleep. This effect is mediated by activity-dependent release of vasopressin from the axon terminals of SCN neurons which acts as a neurotransmitter on OVLT neurons. More recently we found that the clock receives excitatory input from a different subset of sodium sensing neurons in the OVLT. Activation of these neurons by a systemic salt load delivered at ZT19 stimulated the electrical activity of SCN neurons which are normally silent at this time. Remarkably, this effect induced an acute reduction in non-shivering thermogenesis and body temperature, which is an adaptive response to the salt load. These findings provide information regarding the mechanisms by which the SCN promotes scheduled physiological rhythms and indicates that the clock’s output circuitry can also be recruited to mediate an unscheduled homeostatic response.

Functional characterization of healthy and Alzheimer’s disease-related 3D neurospheres formed using human iPSC-derived glutamatergic neurons, GABAergic neurons, and astrocytes

FENS Forum 2024

Locomotion induced by medial septal glutamatergic neurons is linked to intrinsically generated persistent firing

No loss of glutamatergic neurons or interneurons in mice lacking the autism-associated gene Glra2 encoding the glycine receptor alpha-2 subunit

TRPA1 can modulate cocaine addiction within glutamatergic neurons extending from medial frontal cortex to nucleus accumbens

Ventral Tegmental Area glutamatergic neurons play a role in fear-induced hypophagia through lateral hypothalamic glutamatergic inputs

Characterization of medial septal glutamatergic neurons projecting along the dorso-ventral hippocampal axis

FENS Forum 2024

Glutamatergic neurons in the subthalamic nucleus regulate arousal and REM sleep

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hiPSC-derived dopaminergic and glutamatergic neurons of schizophrenia patients show neuronal aberrations in a co-culture model

FENS Forum 2024

Locomotion induced by medial septal glutamatergic neurons is linked to intrinsically generated persistent firing

FENS Forum 2024

Opioid withdrawal increases excitability and synaptic output of ventral pallidal glutamatergic neurons

FENS Forum 2024