Carbachol-Induced Reduction in the Activity of Adult Male Zebra Finch RA Projection Neurons

Cholinergic mechanism is involved in motor behavior. In songbirds, the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) is a song premotor nucleus in the pallium and receives cholinergic inputs from the basal forebrain. The activity of projection neurons in RA determines song motor behavior. Although many evi...

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Main Authors: Wei Meng, Song-Hua Wang, Dong-Feng Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-01-01
Series:Neural Plasticity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7246827
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author Wei Meng
Song-Hua Wang
Dong-Feng Li
author_facet Wei Meng
Song-Hua Wang
Dong-Feng Li
author_sort Wei Meng
collection DOAJ
description Cholinergic mechanism is involved in motor behavior. In songbirds, the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) is a song premotor nucleus in the pallium and receives cholinergic inputs from the basal forebrain. The activity of projection neurons in RA determines song motor behavior. Although many evidences suggest that cholinergic system is implicated in song production, the cholinergic modulation of RA is not clear until now. In the present study, the electrophysiological effects of carbachol, a nonselective cholinergic receptor agonist, were investigated on the RA projection neurons of adult male zebra finches through whole-cell patch-clamp techniques in vitro. Our results show that carbachol produced a significant decrease in the spontaneous and evoked action potential (AP) firing frequency of RA projection neurons, accompanying a hyperpolarization of the membrane potential, an increase in the evoked AP latency, afterhyperpolarization (AHP) peak amplitude, and AHP time to peak, and a decrease in the membrane input resistance, membrane time constant, and membrane capacitance. These results indicate that carbachol reduces the activity of RA projection neurons by hyperpolarizing the resting membrane potential and increasing the AHP and the membrane conductance, suggesting that the cholinergic modulation of RA may play an important role in song production.
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spelling doaj-art-99cd856afea4459a96cafb50a5c078112025-08-20T02:20:15ZengWileyNeural Plasticity2090-59041687-54432016-01-01201610.1155/2016/72468277246827Carbachol-Induced Reduction in the Activity of Adult Male Zebra Finch RA Projection NeuronsWei Meng0Song-Hua Wang1Dong-Feng Li2School of Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, ChinaSchool of Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, ChinaSchool of Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510631, ChinaCholinergic mechanism is involved in motor behavior. In songbirds, the robust nucleus of the arcopallium (RA) is a song premotor nucleus in the pallium and receives cholinergic inputs from the basal forebrain. The activity of projection neurons in RA determines song motor behavior. Although many evidences suggest that cholinergic system is implicated in song production, the cholinergic modulation of RA is not clear until now. In the present study, the electrophysiological effects of carbachol, a nonselective cholinergic receptor agonist, were investigated on the RA projection neurons of adult male zebra finches through whole-cell patch-clamp techniques in vitro. Our results show that carbachol produced a significant decrease in the spontaneous and evoked action potential (AP) firing frequency of RA projection neurons, accompanying a hyperpolarization of the membrane potential, an increase in the evoked AP latency, afterhyperpolarization (AHP) peak amplitude, and AHP time to peak, and a decrease in the membrane input resistance, membrane time constant, and membrane capacitance. These results indicate that carbachol reduces the activity of RA projection neurons by hyperpolarizing the resting membrane potential and increasing the AHP and the membrane conductance, suggesting that the cholinergic modulation of RA may play an important role in song production.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7246827
spellingShingle Wei Meng
Song-Hua Wang
Dong-Feng Li
Carbachol-Induced Reduction in the Activity of Adult Male Zebra Finch RA Projection Neurons
Neural Plasticity
title Carbachol-Induced Reduction in the Activity of Adult Male Zebra Finch RA Projection Neurons
title_full Carbachol-Induced Reduction in the Activity of Adult Male Zebra Finch RA Projection Neurons
title_fullStr Carbachol-Induced Reduction in the Activity of Adult Male Zebra Finch RA Projection Neurons
title_full_unstemmed Carbachol-Induced Reduction in the Activity of Adult Male Zebra Finch RA Projection Neurons
title_short Carbachol-Induced Reduction in the Activity of Adult Male Zebra Finch RA Projection Neurons
title_sort carbachol induced reduction in the activity of adult male zebra finch ra projection neurons
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7246827
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