title: Rapid and slow chemical synaptic interactions of cholinergic projection neurons and GABAergic local interneurons in the insect antennal lobe.
abstract: The antennal lobe (AL) of insects constitutes the first synaptic relay and processing center of olfactory information, received from olfactory sensory neurons located on the antennae. Complex synaptic connectivity between olfactory neurons of the AL ultimately determines the spatial and temporal tuning profile of (output) projection neurons to odors. Here we used paired whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in the cockroach Periplaneta americana to characterize synaptic interactions between cholinergic uniglomerular projection neurons (uPNs) and GABAergic local interneurons (LNs), both of which are key components of the insect olfactory system. We found rapid, strong excitatory synaptic connections between uPNs and LNs. This rapid excitatory transmission was blocked by the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor blocker mecamylamine. IPSPs, elicited by synaptic input from a presynaptic LN, were recorded in both uPNs and LNs. IPSPs were composed of both slow, sustained components and fast, transient components which were coincident with presynaptic action potentials. The fast IPSPs were blocked by the GABAA receptor chloride channel blocker picrotoxin, whereas the slow sustained IPSPs were blocked by the GABAB receptor blocker CGP-54626. This is the first study to directly show the predicted dual fast- and slow-inhibitory action of LNs, which was predicted to be key in shaping complex odor responses in the AL of insects. We also provide the first direct characterization of rapid postsynaptic potentials coincident with presynaptic spikes between olfactory processing neurons in the AL.
authors.affiliation: Biocenter, Institute for Zoology, and Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.affiliation: Biocenter, Institute for Zoology, and Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany peter.kloppenburg@uni-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kloppenburg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057506:Arthropod Antennae / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D059329:Cholinergic Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials; D018756:GABA Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D059330:GABAergic Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D017952:Ganglia, Invertebrate / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D053444:Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potentials; D007395:Interneurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D010526:Periplaneta / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D010852:Picrotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology; D011930:Reaction Time
chemical_list: D018756:GABA Antagonists; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D010852:Picrotoxin; C107353:CGP 54626
keywords: GABA; acetylcholine; antennal lobe; local interneuron; olfaction; projection neuron