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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #396412
Research Project: Molecular, Cellular, and Regulatory Aspects of Obesity Development

Location: Children's Nutrition Research Center

Title: Co-transmitting neurons in the lateral septal nucleus exhibit features of neurotransmitter switching

Author
item HUNT, PATRICK - Baylor College Of Medicine
item KOCHUKOV, MIKHAIL - Baylor College Of Medicine
item PEKAREK, BRANDON - Baylor College Of Medicine
item BELFORT, BENJAMIN - Baylor College Of Medicine
item ROMERO, JUAN - Baylor College Of Medicine
item SWANSON, JESSICA - Baylor College Of Medicine
item ARENKIEL, BENJAMIN - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: IBRO Neuroscience Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/9/2022
Publication Date: 5/12/2022
Citation: Hunt, P.J., Kochukov, M., Pekarek, B.T., Belfort, B.D., Romero, J.M., Swanson, J.L., Arenkiel, B.R. 2022. Co-transmitting neurons in the lateral septal nucleus exhibit features of neurotransmitter switching. IBRO Neuroscience Reports. 12:390-398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibneur.2022.05.003.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibneur.2022.05.003

Interpretive Summary: Brain cells communicate with each other through electrical and chemical signals in the form of neurotransmitters. Historically, cells within the brain have been defined by the neurotransmitters they express. This manuscript describes a subset of brain cells that express multiple neurotransmitters, thereby revealing how individual brain cells can have diverse forms of communication.

Technical Abstract: The lateral septal nucleus (LSN) is a highly interconnected region of the central brain whose activity regulates widespread circuitry. As such, the mechanisms that govern neuronal activity within the LSN have far-reaching implications on numerous brain-wide nuclei, circuits, and behaviors. We found that GABAergic neurons within the LSN express markers that mediate the release of acetylcholine (ACh). Moreover, we show that these vGAT**LSN neurons release both GABA and ACh onto local glutamatergic LSN neurons. Using both short-term and long-term neuronal labeling techniques we observed expression of the cholinergic neuron marker Choline Acetyltransferase (ChAT) in vGAT**LSN neurons. These findings provide evidence of cholinergic neurotransmission from vGAT**LSN neurons, and provide an impetus to examine dynamic co-neurotransmission changes as a potential mechanism that contributes to neuronal and circuit-wide plasticity within the LSN.