CHOLINERGIC MODULATION OF NIGRAL DOPAMINE NEURONS

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Currently there is an incomplete understanding of the physiological processes which regulate firing patterns in DA neurons. Dopaminergic (DA) neurons in vivo characteristically exhibit spontaneous, pacemaker-like, regular spiking as well as irregular burst-firing activity. The change from regular to burst-firing mode has been associated with movement as well as with the magnitude of dopamine release at nigrostriatal target sites. Although a role for excitatory synaptic inputs in DA bursting activity has been postulated, the mechanisms underlying the change from regular to burst-firing are not clearly understood The main goal of this research proposal is to elucidate possible ionic mechanisms by which cholinergic receptor activation can modulate glutamate-induced burst-firing in SNc-DA neurons. It is our hypothesis that cholinergic input from the peduncular pontine tegmental nucleus depolarizes SNc-DA neurons and increases their firing rate, thereby contributing to the tendency for burst-firing induction in response to glutamatergic input from the subthalamic nucleus (STN), cingulate gyrus, and medial prefrontal area. There is a paucity of direct information regarding the effects of acetylcholine on ion currents in DA neurons and mechanisms by which cholinergic modulation of ion currents in DA neurons may facilitate burst-firing. In this study, intracellular current clamp and whole-cell patch clamp recordings will be utilized in rat brain slices and acutely dissociated SNc neurons. The effects of postsynaptic muscarinic and nicotinic receptor activation on neuronal membrane potential, isolated ion currents, firing behavior, and interactions with STN stimulation will be assessed. The following specific aims will be addressed: 1. To examine the effect of cholinergic receptor activation on Ca2+ entry during the pacemaker-like depolarization and afterhyperpolarization (AHP); 2. To examine the ionic mechanism(s) underlying the depolarization of the resting membrane potential induced by muscarinic receptor activation; 3. To determine if cholinergic receptor-mediated changes in membrane potential and AHP can modulate burst-firing induced by glutamate. It is important to better understand the role of acetylcholine in the modulation of SNc-DA neuronal firing behavior which subsequently influences dopamine release in SNc target structures. Results from the proposed studies may have clinical consequences relevant to symptomatic expression and pharmacological manipulations in motor and behavioral disorders such as Parkinson's disease.