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Cholinergic mechanisms in the rat somatosensory cerebral cortex
Author(s) -
Stone T. W.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jphysiol.1972.sp009951
Subject(s) - excitatory postsynaptic potential , acetylcholine , muscarinic acetylcholine receptor , neuroscience , cholinergic , atropine , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , somatosensory system , chemistry , cerebral cortex , muscarinic acetylcholine receptor m4 , biology , medicine , endocrinology , receptor
1. The responses of identified cells in the rat cerebral cortex to cholinomimetic and anticholinergic substances has been investigated. 2. Acetylcholine and muscarinic agonists have an excitatory action on 80% of pyramidal tract cells. This response is found especially on cells responding to specific thalamic stimulation and the burst of spikes evoked from this site can sometimes be blocked by the iontophoresis of atropine. This strongly suggests an excitatory transmitter function for acetylcholine in a specific thalamocortical pathway. 3. Experiments on non‐pyramidal tract cells have detected a muscarinic depression of some cells, and a nicotinic excitation of some cells above a depth of 600 μ in the cortex. 4. It is suggested that the increased release of acetylcholine from the cortex produced by atropine administration may be due to an excess of muscarinic inhibitory over excitatory synapses in the cortex.