title: Non-noxious skin stimulation activates the nucleus basalis of Meynert and promotes NGF secretion in the parietal cortex via nicotinic ACh receptors.
abstract: The effects of non-noxious skin stimulation on nerve growth factor (NGF) secretion in the parietal cortex were examined in anesthetized rats. Innocuous skin stimulation was delivered to the left hindlimb with a soft-hair brush. Extracellular NGF in the right parietal cortex was collected by microdialysis methods using a protein-permeable probe and was measured using an enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay. Brushing produced a significant increase in extracellular NGF levels. This NGF response was not observed in rats pretreated with a nicotinic ACh receptor (nAChR) antagonist mecamylamine. We further examined whether brushing could activate the basal forebrain nucleus (nucleus basalis of Meynert, NBM), which is the main source of cholinergic fibers in the cerebral cortex, by means of functional MRI. The blood oxygen level-dependent signal in the right NBM was significantly higher during brushing compared to baseline. The results suggest that non-noxious skin stimulation activates NBM and promotes NGF secretion in the parietal cortex via nAChRs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Autonomic Neuroscience, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, 35-2 Sakaecho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-0015, Japan, hhotta@tmig.or.jp.
authors.forename: Harumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hotta
authors.forename: Nobuhiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piché
authors.forename: Sanae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yokawa
authors.forename: Sae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uchida
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D020532:Basal Nucleus of Meynert / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002799:Cholinergic Fibers / Q000378:metabolism; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008464:Mecamylamine / Q000378:metabolism; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D018733:Nicotinic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D018733:Nicotinic Antagonists; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic; D008464:Mecamylamine; D020932:Nerve Growth Factor; D000109:Acetylcholine