Hierarchical organization of the forebrain cholinergic system in rats

Summary: The basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic system (BFCS) participates in functions that are global across the brain, such as sleep-wake cycles, but also participates in capacities that are more behaviorally and anatomically specific, including sensory perception. However, how it orchestrates all...

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Main Authors: Peter Varsanyi, Kevin Alloway, Candice Chavez, Matthew R. Gielow, Peter Gombkoto, Hideki Kondo, Zoltan Nadasdy, Laszlo Zaborszky
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:iScience
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225002615
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author Peter Varsanyi
Kevin Alloway
Candice Chavez
Matthew R. Gielow
Peter Gombkoto
Hideki Kondo
Zoltan Nadasdy
Laszlo Zaborszky
author_facet Peter Varsanyi
Kevin Alloway
Candice Chavez
Matthew R. Gielow
Peter Gombkoto
Hideki Kondo
Zoltan Nadasdy
Laszlo Zaborszky
author_sort Peter Varsanyi
collection DOAJ
description Summary: The basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic system (BFCS) participates in functions that are global across the brain, such as sleep-wake cycles, but also participates in capacities that are more behaviorally and anatomically specific, including sensory perception. However, how it orchestrates all the diverse local and global functions remains to be understood. To uncover the underlying organization principles, we combined data from rat brains by tracing projections from the BF to cortical areas and analyzed spatial-numerical relations of neurons to their cortical targets. The combined dataset revealed algorithmically identified and hierarchically organized three principal networks: somatosensory-motor, auditory, and visual, as defined by the sensory modality most predominant within them. These clusters of cholinergic neurons could enable the BFCS to coordinate spatially selective signaling, including the parallel modulation of multiple functionally interconnected yet diverse groups of cortical areas. This previously unseen blueprint of the hierarchy of cholinergic clusters is ready for functional testing.
format Article
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spelling doaj-art-63a252d022bd47a49d9e804cabfc3e7a2025-08-20T02:47:21ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422025-03-0128311200110.1016/j.isci.2025.112001Hierarchical organization of the forebrain cholinergic system in ratsPeter Varsanyi0Kevin Alloway1Candice Chavez2Matthew R. Gielow3Peter Gombkoto4Hideki Kondo5Zoltan Nadasdy6Laszlo Zaborszky7Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07102, USADepartment of Neural and Behavioral Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USACenter for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07102, USACenter for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07102, USAInstitute of Neuroinformatics, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, SwitzerlandCenter for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07102, USAInstitute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University, 1064 Budapest, Hungary; Department of Neurology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USACenter for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07102, USA; Corresponding authorSummary: The basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic system (BFCS) participates in functions that are global across the brain, such as sleep-wake cycles, but also participates in capacities that are more behaviorally and anatomically specific, including sensory perception. However, how it orchestrates all the diverse local and global functions remains to be understood. To uncover the underlying organization principles, we combined data from rat brains by tracing projections from the BF to cortical areas and analyzed spatial-numerical relations of neurons to their cortical targets. The combined dataset revealed algorithmically identified and hierarchically organized three principal networks: somatosensory-motor, auditory, and visual, as defined by the sensory modality most predominant within them. These clusters of cholinergic neurons could enable the BFCS to coordinate spatially selective signaling, including the parallel modulation of multiple functionally interconnected yet diverse groups of cortical areas. This previously unseen blueprint of the hierarchy of cholinergic clusters is ready for functional testing.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225002615NeuroscienceSensory neuroscience
spellingShingle Peter Varsanyi
Kevin Alloway
Candice Chavez
Matthew R. Gielow
Peter Gombkoto
Hideki Kondo
Zoltan Nadasdy
Laszlo Zaborszky
Hierarchical organization of the forebrain cholinergic system in rats
iScience
Neuroscience
Sensory neuroscience
title Hierarchical organization of the forebrain cholinergic system in rats
title_full Hierarchical organization of the forebrain cholinergic system in rats
title_fullStr Hierarchical organization of the forebrain cholinergic system in rats
title_full_unstemmed Hierarchical organization of the forebrain cholinergic system in rats
title_short Hierarchical organization of the forebrain cholinergic system in rats
title_sort hierarchical organization of the forebrain cholinergic system in rats
topic Neuroscience
Sensory neuroscience
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225002615
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