22 entries found for : it-42
Loftén A, Adermark L, Ericson M, Söderpalm B (2021) An acetylcholine-dopamine interaction in the nucleus accumbens and its involvement in ethanol's dopamine-releasing effect. Addict Biol 26(3):e12959. doi: 10.1111/adb.12959Summary: Basal extracellular levels of dopamine within the nucleus accumbens are not sustained by muscarinic acetylcholine, whereas accumbal Cholinergic interneurons-ACh are involved in mediating ethanol-induced dopamine release.
Usage: Anti-ChAT-SAP or Rabbit IgG-SAP were infused at a flow rate of 0.05 μl/min for 10 min giving a total volume of 0.5 μl.
Related Products: Anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42), Rabbit IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-35)
Ashkenazi SL, Polis B, David O, Morris G (2021) Striatal cholinergic interneurons exert inhibition on competing default behaviours controlled by the nucleus accumbens and dorsolateral striatum. Eur J Neurosci 53(7):2078-2089. doi: 10.1111/ejn.14873Objective: To determine whether cholinergic interneurons contribute to the competition between both ventral and dorsolateral control systems.
Summary: Findings indicate a central role of cholinergic interneurons in regulating motivational impact on striatally controlled behaviors.
Usage: Anti-ChAT-SAP was diluted to 0.5 μg/μl in phosphate buffer saline and 0.5 μl were injected in each injection site.
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Andrén A, Adermark L, Söderpalm B, Ericson M (2019) An acetylcholine-dopamine interaction in the rat nucleus accumbens and its tentative involvement in ethanol's dopamine-liberating effect. Neuroscience 2019 Abstracts 079.08. Society for Neuroscience, Chicago, IL.
Summary: Alcohol use disorder is a chronic, relapsing brain disorder associated with serious medical consequences leading to preterm death. Although few in number, cholinergic interneurons (CIN) have arisen as an important cell population within the nucleus accumbens (nAc) that may exert a regulatory impact on dopamine (DA) neurotransmission locally. A defect in CIN have been suggested to be involved in psychiatric diseases such as alcohol addiction. The mechanisms through which endogenous cholinergic activity modulates DA release in response to ethanol administration and its role in development of addiction is not known. In this project, the aim was to study if acetylcholine (ACh) can influence DA release locally in the nAc and if so, through which receptor population(s) this effect is mediated. Further, we wanted to determine the role of ACh in ethanol-induced DA elevation.Using reversed in vivo microdialysis, the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor physostigmine was administered locally in the nAc of male Wistar rats followed by addition of either the muscarinic ACh receptor inhibitor scopolamine or the nicotinergic ACh receptor inhibitor mecamylamine. Subsequently, ethanol was perfused following local pretreatment with scopolamine or mecamylamine, using the same methodology. An immunotoxin, anti-ChAT-saporine, was infused locally into the nAc of a subset of male Wistar rats to selectively lesion CIN, followed by local ethanol administration via reversed in vivo microdialysis. Local administration of physostigmine induced a DA elevation within the nAc, an effect blocked by scopolamine but not by mecamylamine. Local administration of ethanol increased DA levels. Scopolamine pretreatment non-significantly attenuated the ethanol-induced DA elevation, whereas pretreatment with mecamylamine had no effect. Preliminary results indicate a minor attenuation of the DA elevation observed after local administration of ethanol in toxin-treated animals, as compared to sham-treated controls. Taken together, these results suggest that ACh increases extracellular DA levels in nAc in vivo, an effect mediated by muscarinic ACh-receptors and not by nicotinic ACh-receptors. Considering that scopolamine moderately attenuated ethanol-induced DA output and that lesioning of CIN appeared to hamper DA release in response to ethanol, ACh release from CIN within the nAc may be partially involved in ethanol-induced DA release in nAc.
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Weiner GA, Shah SH, Angelopoulos CM, Bartakova AB, Pulido RS, Murphy A, Nudleman E, Daneman R, Goldberg JL (2019) Cholinergic neural activity directs retinal layer-specific angiogenesis and blood retinal barrier formation. Nat Commun 10(1):2477. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-10219-8Objective: To determine which neurons are responsible for angiogenesis and blood retinal barrier formation.
Summary: Anti-ChAT-SAP reduces SAC (starburst amacrine cell) number and inhibits deep-layer angiogenesis.
Usage: Anti-ChAT-SAP or control Rabbit-IgG-SAP were injected intravitreally at P3 and P11 (0.12 mg/mL in PBS).
Related Products: Anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42), Rabbit IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-35)
Abudukeyoumu N, Garcia-Munoz M, Nakano Y, Arbuthnott GW (2018) Featured Article: Impaired reach-to-grasp responses in mice depleted of striatal cholinergic interneurons. Targeting Trends 19
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Impaired reach-to-grasp responses in mice depleted of striatal cholinergic interneurons
Abudukeyoumu N, Garcia-Munoz M, Nakano Y, Arbuthnott GW (2018) Impaired reach-to-grasp responses in mice depleted of striatal cholinergic interneurons. Neuroscience 2018 Abstracts 491.01 / MM13. Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA.
Summary: Cholinergic interneurons (ChIs) are sparsely distributed within the striatum, a nucleus that plays important role in voluntary motor control, associated learning, procedural memory, action selection and planning and execution of movement. Sparsely distributed ChIs are 1-3% of all striatal neurons and the main source of striatal acetylcholine. Here we report the effect of depletion of ChIs in the dorsolateral striatum in a reach-to-grasp task. To selectively deplete ChIs, we used the saporin ribosome-inactivating-immunotoxin that targets choline acetyltransferase. C57BL/J male mice, 21 days old, received a stereotaxic unilateral infusion of the toxin (0.3µl/3min), and sham control group was injected with saline. Following one week postsurgery recovery, animals were food deprived for 12 h everyday and trained for 12 days at night during their active circadian cycle. The mean percentage ± SEM of successful performance in the reach-to-grasp task for the last 6 training sessions was 51.11 ± 4.09% (n = 25), 48.79 ± 7.7% (n = 9) and 26.28 ± 5.19% (n = 13) for intact control, sham control and ChIs-depleted mice, respectively. These results indicate that striatal depletion of ChIs impair reaching accuracy, whereas no significant differences were observed in control or sham operated mice. Moreover, a positive correlation between loss of ChIs and performance in the reach-to-grasp task was observed. Our results suggest that the participation of ChIs in striatal mediated motor learning impact on the function of interneurons and projection neurons of the whole striatal microcircuitry (Abudukeyoumu, N., Hernandez-Flores, T. et al. Eur. J. Neuroscience, in press).
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ATS Poster of the Year Winner. Read the featured article in Targeting Trends.
Liu A, Aoki S, Wickens J (2017) A streamlined method for the preparation of gelatin embedded brains and simplified organization of sections for serial reconstructions. Bio-protocol 7(22):e2610.. doi: 10.21769/BioProtoc.2610
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Xiao H, Li M, Cai J, Li N, Zhou M, Wen P, Xie Z, Wang Q, Chang J, Zhang W (2017) Selective cholinergic depletion of pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus aggravates freezing of gait in parkinsonian rats. Neurosci Lett 659:92-98.. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2017.08.016
Summary: Many patients with advanced Parkinson's disease suffer from gait and postural impairments. The authors used Anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42) to specifically lesion neurons in the Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus (PPTg) to examine the impact on gait performance. Adult male rats received either unilateral PPTg cholinergic lesion or bilateral PPTg lesion, at a dose of 250 ng. The authors conclude that the cholinergic neurons of pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus play a vital role in the occurrence of gait freezing in Parkinson’s disease.
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Striatal cholinergic interneurons: their depletion and its progression.
Abudukeyoumu N, Garcia-Munoz M, Jaidar OP, Arbuthnott G (2016) Striatal cholinergic interneurons: their depletion and its progression. Neuroscience 2016 Abstracts 245.09 / RR4. Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA.
Summary: Even before the discovery that Parkinson’s was produced by the loss of dopaminergic neurons, this neurological disease was treated with anticholinergic drugs. A balance between cholinergic and dopaminergic activity in striatum is not only important in PD but for the normal function of the nucleus (i.e., behavior, reward, memory and cognitive functions). An important source of striatal acetylcholine (Ach) comes from giant and sparsely distributed cholinergic interneurons (ChI). However, their study has been hampered by a concentration of only 1-3 % of the whole striatal cell population. We performed a stereological systematic random sampling of striatal tissue from 21 days old C57BL/6J male mice. To selectively deplete ChI we performed a stereotaxic injection of saporin ribosome inactivating immunotoxin that targets choline acetyltransferase (0.3µl). Following survival periods of 2, 4 or 6 weeks, animals were sacrificed and brain sections immunostained against ChAT to identify ChI, or against vesicular acetylcholine transporter (vAChT) to identify synaptic boutons. For each of the three survival periods, we counted and compared the number of ChIs between the intact and the lesioned hemispheres and the change in the number of vesicular acetylcholine transporters (vAChT). Compared to striatal sections from naïve controls and sham injections, we observed a decrease in ChIs according to each survival period of 24.4% (week 2, n=9), 33.74% (week 4, n= 11) and 19.89% (week 6, n=10). In contrast, we observed a percent increase in vAChT positive boutons of 42.3, 21.6 and 28.3% for each of the respective survival periods (n=9, n=11 and n=10). We are investigating whether the increase in vAChT positive terminals is due to an indirect upregulation produced by compensatory axonal sprouting from surviving ChI, or from afferent axonal terminal fields of cholinergic mesopontine neurons.
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Ostock CY, Conti MM, Larose T, Meadows S, Bishop C (2015) Cognitive and motor deficits in a rodent model of Parkinson’s disease displaying concurrent dopamine and acetylcholine loss. Neuroscience 2015 Abstracts 676.26/D33. Society for Neuroscience, Chicago IL.
Summary: Dopamine (DA) loss in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is frequently accompanied by degeneration of acetylcholine neurons within the basal forebrain (BF) and the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN). Recently, Ach neurons in these nuclei have been implicated in both the motor and non-motor symptoms of PD. However, few rodent models of PD actually account for Ach loss in both the BF and PPN. Here, we evaluated the effects of concurrent BF and PPN Ach loss alone and in combination with striatal DA loss on motor and cognitive performance in a rat model of PD. Sprague-Dawley rats (N = 44) received bilateral: striatal 6-OHDA lesions to deplete DA (DA-lesioned; n = 14), BF (192 IgG-Saporin) and PPN (anti-ChAT Saporin) saporin lesions to deplete Ach (Ach-lesioned; n = 10), combined 6-OHDA + saporin lesions (dual-lesioned; n = 6) , or sham lesions (n = 14). Following recovery from surgery, rats underwent a battery of motor and cognitive behavioral tests. Results indicated that Ach-lesioned and dual-lesioned rats displayed spatial memory deficits on the Morris Water Maze and Spontaneous Alternation tests. DA and Ach lesions alone impaired stepping for the forepaw adjusting steps and vibrissae-elicited paw placement tests and this deficit was exacerbated in dual-lesioned rats. However, only rats with Ach or dual lesions showed motor deficits on the rotarod tests. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that Ach loss may exacerbate cognitive and motor symptoms in PD and highlight the importance of including Ach loss in preclinical models of PD.
Related Products: 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01), Anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42), Saporin (Cat. #PR-01)
Modeling Tourette syndrome pathophysiology through targeted manipulation of striatal interneurons
Pittenger CJ (2015) Modeling Tourette syndrome pathophysiology through targeted manipulation of striatal interneurons. Neuroscience 2015 Abstracts 6.07. Society for Neuroscience, Chicago IL.
Summary: Postmortem studies of Tourette syndrome patients has revealed a reduction in the number of specific striatal interneurons. The authors explored the hypothesis that this neuronal deficit is enough to produce the symptoms of Tourette syndrome in mice. Animals received 90-ng injections of Anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42) into the striatum. Rabbit IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-35) was used as a control. The data suggest that loss of the striatal interneurons is enough to produce some, but not all, of the symptoms caused by Tourette syndrome.
Related Products: Anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42), Rabbit IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-35)
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Aoki S, Wickens JR (2015) Featured Article: A specific immunotoxin elucidates a causal role of striatal cholinergic system in behavioral flexibility. Targeting Trends 16(4)
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Role of striatal cholinergic interneurons in set-shifting in the rat.
Aoki S, Liu A, Zucca A, Zucca S, Wickens J (2015) Role of striatal cholinergic interneurons in set-shifting in the rat. J Neurosci 35:9424-9431. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0490-15.2015
Summary: The authors examined the role that cholinergic interneurons in the striatum play in a process called strategy set-shifting, where an attentional shift is required. Rats received bilateral injections of Anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42) into either the dorsomedial striatum or ventral striatum (500 ng total). Initial task learning was unaffected by either lesion. Lesioned animals displayed set-shifting deficits, and the deficit characteristics depended on the location of the lesion.
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Xu M, Kobets A, Du J, Lennington J, Li L, Banasr M, Duman R, Vaccarino F, DiLeone R, Pittenger C (2015) Targeted ablation of cholinergic interneurons in the dorsolateral striatum produces behavioral manifestations of Tourette syndrome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112:893-898. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1419533112
Summary: Postmortem studies of Tourette syndrome patients has revealed a reduction in the number of specific striatal interneurons. The authors explored the hypothesis that this neuronal deficit is enough to produce the symptoms of Tourette syndrome in mice. Animals received 90-ng injections of Anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42) into the striatum. Rabbit IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-35) was used as a control. The data suggest that loss of the striatal interneurons is enough to produce some, but not all, of the symptoms caused by Tourette syndrome.
Related Products: Anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42), Rabbit IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-35)
Kucinski A (2015) Featured Article: Impairments in gait, posture and complex movement control in rats modeling the multi-system, cholinergic-dopaminergic losses in Parkinson’s Disease. Targeting Trends 16(1)
Related Products: 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01), Anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42)
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Phillips K, Kucinski A, Albin R, Sarter M (2014) Impairments in gait, posture and complex movement control in rats modeling the multi-system, cholinergic-dopaminergic losses in PD. Neuroscience 2014 Abstracts 692.21. Society for Neuroscience, Washington, DC.
Summary: In addition to striatal dopamine loss, degeneration of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain (BF) and the brainstem pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) were documented in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Loss of cholinergic projections to cortical, thalamic and midbrain regions have been associated with impairments in gait and postural control and a propensity for falls. We previously demonstrated that loss of cortical cholinergic inputs and the resulting impairments in attentional control ‘unmask’ gait and postural risk factors and thus yielded falls in rats with striatal dopamine loss (Kucinski et al., 2013). For this research we developed a new behavior task for the assessment of gait, postural control, and fall propensity (Michigan Complex Motor Control Task; MCMCT). Here, to determine the contributions of the PPN cholinergic projection system to complex movement control, we also lesioned the cholinergic pars compacta (posterior) division of the PPN by infusing anti-ChAT saporin-coupled immunotoxin. Rats received these lesions either in combination with BF cholinergic (192-IgG-saporin) or dorsomedial striatal dopamine loss (6-OHDA), or all three lesions together (“triples”). MCMCT performance by triples was characterized by more falls than in rats with just PPN lesions, PPN plus striatal dopamine loss, or rats with loss of both BF and PPN cholinergic neurons. High fall rates in triples persisted throughout the 20-day MCMCT testing sequence, indicating that daily practice did not improve the interactions between loss of attentional control and gait and postural deficits that underlie falls. Interestingly, combined loss of BF and PPN cholinergic neurons increased falls relative to controls and single lesions, suggesting that ascending cholinergic PPN loss sufficiently dysregulates striatal dopamine input for BF cholinergic cell loss to ‘unmask’ the impact of the former on striatal dysfunction. Finally, PPN cholinergic cell loss resulted in ballistic postural (recovery) movements and slip-triggered switches to asymmetrical gait. Such behavior was previously observed in rats after electrolytic lesions of the PPN region, considered a model of “Parkinsonian festination” (Cheng et al., 1981) and it may assist in maintaining balance by stabilizing the center of gravity. Collectively, our findings support the hypothesis that PPN cholinergic projections contribute to the mediation of gait symmetry and postural control, and when lesioned in combination with forebrain cholinergic and dopaminergic system, results in profound impairments in the control of complex movements. This research was supported by the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
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ATS Poster of the Year Winner. Read the featured article in Targeting Trends.
Laplante F, Dufresne MM, Ouboudinar J, Ochoa-Sanchez R, Sullivan RM (2013) Reduction in cholinergic interneuron density in the nucleus accumbens attenuates local extracellular dopamine release in response to stress or amphetamine. Synapse 67(1):21-29. doi: 10.1002/syn.21612
Summary: The authors examined whether excessive dopamine neurotransmission in the mesolimbic system is due to higher levels of presynaptic or postsynaptic dopamine. Rats received 250-ng bilateral injections of anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42) into the nucleus accumbens. Rabbit IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-35) was used as a control. The data suggest that reduction of cholinergic interneurons in the nucleus accumbens suppresses presynaptic dopamine release.
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LaPlante F (2013) Featured Article: Role of cholinergic neurons in the nucleus accumbens and their involvement in schizophrenic pathology. Targeting Trends 14(1)
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Laplante F, Zhang ZW, Huppe-Gourgues F, Dufresne MM, Vaucher E, Sullivan RM (2012) Cholinergic depletion in nucleus accumbens impairs mesocortical dopamine activation and cognitive function in rats. Neuropharmacology 63(6):1075-1084. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2012.07.033
Summary: Current thought is that loss of cholinergic function in the nucleus accumbens (N.Acc) is associated with schizophrenia. This deficit is accompanied by low dopaminergic activity in the prefrontal area, which adversely affects working memory. Rats received bilateral injections totaling 500 ng of anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42) into the N.Acc; rabbit IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-35) was used as a control. Lesioned animals had markedly reduced mesocortical dopamine activation, which corresponded with cognitive impairments. The data suggest that loss of cholinergic neurons in the N.Acc causes loss of dopamine function in the mesocorticolimbic system.
Related Products: Anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42), Rabbit IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-35)
Laplante F, Lappi DA, Sullivan RM (2011) Cholinergic depletion in the nucleus accumbens: Effects on amphetamine response and sensorimotor gating. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 35(2):501-509. doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2010.12.005
Summary: Disruption of dopamine and acetylcholine balance in the striatum may play a role in conditions such as Parkinson's and schizophrenia. In this work the authors lesioned cholinergic neurons in the nucleus accumbens (N.Acc) with the novel toxin Anti-ChAT-SAP (Cat. #IT-42). Rats received 0.25-µg bilateral injections of the toxin into the N.Acc. Rabbit IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-35) was used as a control. The results of this lesion produced responses that may parallel the loss of cholinergic neurons seen in schizophrenia.
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Laplante FP, Dufresne M, Lappi DA, Sullivan RM (2009) Depletion of cholinergic neurons in the nucleus accumbens impairs dopamine function in the prefrontal cortex in the rat. Neuroscience 2009 Abstracts 341.7/O16. Society for Neuroscience, Chicago, IL.
Summary: Studies of post mortem schizophrenic brains have revealed a selective loss of cholinergic interneurons, most pronounced in the ventral striatal region. We have previously shown in the rat, that a novel saporin immunotoxin coupled with an antibody targeting choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and microinjected (0.5 _g/_l; 0.5 _l) into the nucleus accumbens (N. Acc) of adult rats, reduces the number of cholinergic neurons in N. Acc. by 40-50 %. Such lesions result in a markedly heightened response to the locomotor activating effects of amphetamine and impair prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response. We proposed that this local cholinergic deficit leads to a hyperresponsiveness in subcortical dopamine (DA) systems of relevance to schizophrenic symptomatology. Presently, we hypothesize that the same local cholinergic defect may trigger broader changes in cortical/subcortical networks, specifically prefrontal cortex (PFC) deficits in DA-mediated functions, also proposed in schizophrenia. Young adult male Srpague-Dawley rats were injected bilaterally in the N. Acc. as described above with either the cholinergic immunotoxin or vehicle. Two weeks later, they were trained in a working memory task dependent on PFC function, using the delayed alternation paradigm in the T-maze. Lesioned rats took significantly longer to reach criterion performance during training than controls. During testing, lesioned rats were significantly impaired in the percentage of correct arm choices across delay intervals, but especially with longer (40 sec) delays. The same animals were then implanted with voltammetric recording electrodes in the ventromedial PFC to examine the increases in in vivo extracellular DA release in response to a brief tail pinch stress. Lesioned rats showed a significantly reduced activation of the mesocortical DA system compared to controls. Taken together, the data suggest that reduction in the density of cholinergic neurons in the N. Acc also triggers deficits in prefontally-mediated function known to be under mesocortical DAergic regulation. This raises the possibility that ventral striatal cholinergic deficits may be causally linked to cortical/subcortical functional imbalances proposed to exist in schizophrenia.
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Laplante FP, Dufresne M, Lappi DA, Sullivan RM (2008) Depletion of cholinergic neurons in the nucleus accumbens and its possible involvement in schizophrenic symptomatology. Neuroscience 2008 Abstracts 761.18/FF34. Society for Neuroscience, Washington, DC.
Summary: Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by dysfunctions in several neurotransmitter systems including the central cholinergic system. While alterations in cholinergic neurotransmission have been demonstrated in schizophrenic brains, their biological significance remains to be established. Post-mortem studies of schizophrenic patients have shown a reduction in the density of cholinergic interneurons in the striatum, most prominently in the ventral striatum or nucleus accumbens (N. Acc). Intra-accumbens acetylcholine interacts functionally with the mesolimbic dopaminergic system and is believed to dampen the effects of excessive dopamine (DA) release. Therefore, we hypothesize that a reduction in the density of cholinergic neurons in the N. Acc will be behaviorally relevant, if not causal, to the enhanced (ventral) striatal dopaminergic neurotransmission described in schizophrenia and may contribute substantially to the emergence of schizophrenic symptomatology. In this study we aimed to reproduce in rats a selective reduction in N.Acc. cholinergic cell density, and study the neurophysiological and behavioural consequences of these lesions, relevant to the neuropsychopathology of schizophrenia. A novel saporin immunotoxin coupled with an antibody targeting choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) has been developed. We microinjected this immunotoxin bilaterally (0.5 μg/μl; 0.5 μl) into the N. Acc (core and shell) of adult male Srpague-Dawley rats. Using immunohistochemistry to quantify ChAT staining, we have confirmed that this toxin caused a 40-50 % loss in the number of cholinergic neurons in this region within two weeks post-injection. Lesioned rats exhibited significantly higher spontaneous locomotor activity than control rats and were shown to be hypersensitive to the locomotor activating effects of amphetamine and quinpirole. Furthermore, in separate groups of animals, we have observed in lesioned rats, a reduction in the prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response. Taken together, it is proposed that reduction of cholinergic neurons in the N. Acc triggers an enhanced DA responsivity in the N.Acc which may prove highly effective in reproducing behavioral abnormalities analogous to those found in schizophrenia. The neurophysiological consequences of these lesions on DA neurotransmission will be further addressed by measuring both pre- and postsynaptic indices of DA function in this region.
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