Topic: cholinergic interneurons

Spontaneous firing, observed in many neurons, is often attributed to ion channel or network level noise. Cortical cells during slow wave sleep exhibit transitions between so called Up and Down states. In this sleep state, with limited sensory stimuli, neurons fire in the Up state. Spontaneous firing is also observed in slices of cholinergic interneurons, cerebellar Purkinje cells and even brainstem inspiratory neurons. In such in vitro preparations, where the functional relevance is long lost, neurons continue to display a rich repertoire of firing properties. It is perplexing that these neuro

The striatum is densely innervated by midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons but also receives a further sparse monoaminergic innervation by raphe serotonin (5-HT) neurons. Striatal 5-HT has been suggested to have some opposing functions to DA but also to regulate DA release which might support (or counteract) this functional antagonism. We explored the reciprocal modulation of electrically evoked striatal DA and 5-HT release and the underlying cell circuits by using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry to detect DA, a new G-protein-coupled receptor sensor for 5-HT (GRAB5-HT3.0) and whole-cell recordings in a