Layer- and cell type-selective co-transmission by a basal forebrain cholinergic projection to the olfactory bulb.

ABSTRACT: Cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain project heavily to the main olfactory bulb, the first processing station in the olfactory pathway. The projections innervate multiple layers of the main olfactory bulb and strongly influence odor discrimination, detection, and learning. The precise underlying circuitry of this cholinergic input to the main olfactory bulb remains unclear, however. Here, we identify a specific basal forebrain cholinergic projection that innervates select neurons concentrated in the internal plexiform layer of the main olfactory bulb. Optogenetic activation of this projection elicits monosynaptic nicotinic and GABAergic currents in glomerular layer-projecting interneurons. Additionally, we show that the projection co-expresses markers for GABAergic neurotransmission.

SUBMITTER: Case DT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5608700 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature