Mutations in the Neuroligin-3 (Nlgn3) gene are implicated autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction, but cellular Nlgn3 expression enteric nervous system remains to be characterised. We combined RNAScope situ hybridization immunofluorescence measure mRNA cholinergic VIP-expressing submucosal neurons, nitrergic calretinin-containing myenteric neurons glial cells both W...

Address correspondence to: Dennis McGinty, PhD, Neurophysiology Res. (151A3), VAGLAHS, 16111 Plummer Street, Sepulveda, CA 91343; Tel: (818) 891-7711; Fax: (818) 895-9575; E-mail: [email protected] THE IDEA THAT THE REGULATION OF SLEEP IS UNDER CONTROL OF ONE PHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISM, ONE NEUROCHEMICAL PATHWAY, OR ONE BRAIN REGION has seduced many of us.1 Part of the appeal of the hypothesis— th...

We reported previously that intravenously administered d-glucose acts in the central nervous system to inhibit gastric motility induced by hypoglycemia in anesthetized rats. The purpose of this study was to determine whether this effect is due to inhibition of dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV) cholinergic motoneurons, which synapse with postganglionic cholinergic neurons, or to excitation...

Degeneration of hearing and vertigo are symptoms of age-related auditory and vestibular disorders reflecting multifactorial changes in the peripheral and central nervous system whose interplay remains largely unknown. Originating bilaterally in the brain stem, vestibular and auditory efferent cholinergic projections exert feedback control on the peripheral sensory organs, and modulate sensory p...

The discovery of genetic variants in the cholinergic receptor nicotinic CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 gene cluster associated with heavy smoking and higher relapse risk has led to the identification of the midbrain habenula-interpeduncular axis as a critical relay circuit in the control of nicotine dependence. Although clear roles for α3, β4, and α5 receptors in nicotine aversion and withdrawal have bee...

The basal forebrain plays important roles in arousal, learning, and memory by stimulating cortical activation characterized by rhythmic slow theta and high-frequency beta-gamma activities. Although cholinergic neurons play a significant part in these roles, other, including GABAergic, neurons appear to contribute. Using juxtacellular labeling with neurobiotin of neurons recorded within the magn...

Cortical cholinergic inputs are hypothesized to mediate attentional functions. The present experiment was designed to determine the single unit activity of neurons within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of rats performing a sustained visual attention task. Demands on attentional performance were varied by the presentation of a visual distractor. The contribution of cholinergic afferents of ...

objective(s): intracerebral injection of bone marrow stromal cells (bmscs) is being investigated as a therapeutic tool to prevent alzheimer's disease (ad). our aim was to investigate the effects of bmscs by intrathecal injection in ad rat model. materials and methods: bmscs were obtained from the bone marrow of wistar rat and transplanted into ad rat model via intrathecal injection. the ra...

Alterations in neuronal Ca(2+) homeostasis are important determinants of age-related cognitive impairment. We examined the Ca(2+) influx, buffering, and electrophysiology of basal forebrain neurons in adult, middle-aged, and aged male F344 behaviorally assessed rats. Middle-aged and aged rats were characterized as cognitively impaired or unimpaired by water maze performance relative to young co...