Muscarinic Modulation of Antennal Lobe GABAergic Local Neurons Shapes Odor Coding and Behavior.

ABSTRACT: In the antennal lobe (AL), the first olfactory relay of Drosophila, excitatory neurons are predominantly cholinergic. Ionotropic nicotinic receptors play a vital role in the effects of acetylcholine in the AL. However, the AL also has a high expression level of metabotropic muscarinic acetylcholine receptors type A (mAChRs-A). Nevertheless, the neurons expressing them and their role in the AL are unknown. Elucidating their function may reveal principles in olfactory modulation. Here, we show that mAChRs-A shape AL output and affect behavior. We localized mAChRs-A effects to a sub-population of GABAergic local neurons (iLNs), where they play a dual role: direct excitation of iLNs and stabilization of the synapse between receptor neurons and iLNs, which undergoes strong short-term depression

SUBMITTER: Rozenfeld E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6900217 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature