Mania I, Levita L, Rainnie DG (2002) Subtypes of substance P receptor immunoreactive interneurons in the basolateral amygdala. Neuroscience 2002 Abstracts 637.8. Society for Neuroscience, Orlando, FL.
Summary: Neurotoxic lesions of substance P receptor immunoreactive (SPR-IR) interneurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) using SP-saporin reduce anxiety related behavior. These lesions might provide a way to study how specific interneuron populations regulate neuronal activity in the BLA. In the hippocampus, SP-saporin lesions result in an ablation of PV-, CCK-, and SOM-IR interneurons, while sparing CB-IR interneurons. However, limited information is available about the type of neurons affected by this lesion in the BLA. In this study SPR-IR interneurons were characterized immunocytochemically using dual-labeling immunofluorescence. SPR-IR interneurons were examined for their colocalization with calcium-binding proteins and NPY in the rat BLA. The majority of SPR-IR (74%) neurons had a small round or multipolar somata that emanated 3-4 thin aspiny dendrites consistent with them being local interneurones. Interestingly, none of the SPR-IR cells colocalized PV, and they represent only 3–6 % of the CB expressing interneuron population. However, those SPR-IR neurons that do colocalize CB represent 25-45% of the total SPR-IR population. In contrast, 94% of the NPY-IR neurons colocalized with SPR-IR. However, only 51% of SPR-IR cells also co-express NPY-IR. These data suggest that SPR-IR cells represent a heterogeneous population comprising of roughly equal proportions of CB and NPY neurons. Moreover, in the rat BLA SPR-IR cells form a distinct and dissociable group from the PV-IR interneuron population, which should remain intact after SP-saporin lesions.
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