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Effects of Intracortical Infusion of Anticholinergic Drugs on Neuronal Plasticity in Kitten Striate Cortex
Author(s) -
Gu Qiang,
Singer Wolf
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1460-9568.1993.tb00514.x
Subject(s) - muscarinic acetylcholine receptor , neuroscience , kitten , monocular deprivation , visual cortex , mecamylamine , pirenzepine , acetylcholine , cholinergic , ocular dominance , psychology , biology , medicine , endocrinology , receptor , cats
Abstract During a critical period of postnatal development the mammalian visual cortex is highly susceptible to experience‐dependent alterations of neuronal response properties. These modifications are facilitated by the neuromodulators noradrenalin and acetylcholine. To identify the cholinergic mechanisms responsible for this facilitation, muscarinic and nicotinic antagonists were infused into the visual cortex of kittens while the animals were subject to monocular deprivation. Subsequently the ocular dominance of cortical cells was assessed by single‐unit recording. Ocular dominance changes were suppressed by scopolamine and pirenzepine but not by gallamine, hexamethonium and mecamylamine. This blocking effect was concentration‐dependent, and control experiments revealed that it was not due to suppression of neuronal responses to light. It is concluded from these results that acetylcholine facilitates neuronal plasticity in the visual cortex through mechanisms activated by muscarinic M 1 receptors.