title: Developmental modulation of synaptic transmission by acetylcholine in the primary visual cortex.
abstract: Despite the evidence that cortical synaptic organization and cognitive functions are influenced by the activity of the cholinergic system during postnatal development, so far no information is available on the effects produced by acetylcholine (ACh) on synaptic transmission. In the present article, we show that the ability of visual cortex slices to respond to ACh depends on postnatal age. In adulthood, ACh exerts mainly a facilitatory action on synaptic transmission, depressing field potential (FP) amplitude only if applied at high concentrations (millimolar range). During early postnatal development, at postnatal day 13 (P13), facilitation by ACh was lacking, with depression of FP observed with concentration of ACh in the micromolar range. The magnitude of ACh facilitatory effects increases with age. The time course of ACh-dependent facilitation overlaps the developmental maturation of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), suggesting a close relationship between ACh action and AChE activity. Thus, age-dependent modification of the cholinergic modulatory action may affect cortical maturation by regulating the magnitude of synaptic transmission.
authors.affiliation: Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, S.I.S.S.A., Settore di Neuroscienze Cognitive, Via Beirut 2-4, Trieste 34014, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kuczewski
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aztiria
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Domenici
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001285:Atropine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004347:Drug Interactions; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000379:methods; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D011976:Receptors, Muscarinic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011976:Receptors, Muscarinic; D001285:Atropine; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; D000109:Acetylcholine