Functional Principles of Posterior Septal Inputs to the Medial Habenula.

ABSTRACT: The medial habenula (MHb) is an epithalamic hub contributing to expression and extinction of aversive states by bridging forebrain areas and midbrain monoaminergic centers. Although contradictory information exists regarding their synaptic properties, the physiology of the excitatory inputs to the MHb from the posterior septum remains elusive. Here, combining optogenetics-based mapping with ex vivo and in vivo physiology, we examine the synaptic properties of posterior septal afferents to the MHb and how they influence behavior. We demonstrate that MHb cells receive sparse inputs producing purely glutamatergic responses via calcium-permeable α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA), heterotrimeric GluN2A-GluN2B-GluN1 N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, and inhibitory

SUBMITTER: Otsu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5792424 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature