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GABAergic circuitry in the dorsal division of the cat medial geniculate nucleus
Author(s) -
Coomes Diana L.,
Bickford Martha E.,
Schofield Brett R.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/cne.10387
Subject(s) - neuroscience , gabaergic , biology , postsynaptic potential , thalamus , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , axon , nucleus , thalamic reticular nucleus , geniculate , gamma aminobutyric acid , anatomy , biochemistry , receptor
γ‐Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter of the thalamus. We used postembedding immunocytochemistry to examine the synaptic organization of GABA‐positive profiles in the dorsal superficial subdivision of the cat medial geniculate nucleus (MGN). Three groups of GABA‐positive profiles participate in synapses: axon terminals, dendrites, and presynaptic dendrites. The presynaptic GABA‐positive terminals target mainly GABA‐negative dendrites. The GABA‐positive postsynaptic profiles receive input primarily from GABA‐negative axons. The results indicate that the synaptic organization of GABA‐positive profiles in the dorsal superficial subdivision of the MGN nucleus is very similar to that in other thalamic nuclei. J. Comp. Neurol. 453:45–56, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.