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Published on: March 11, 2020
Cholinergic modulation of synaptic integration and dendritic excitability in the striatum
Ian Antón Oldenburg1, Jun B Ding
1Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
None:
Modulatory interneurons such as, the cholinergic interneuron, are always a perplexing subject to study. Far from clear-cut distinctions such as excitatory or inhibitory, modulating interneurons can have many, often contradictory effects. The striatum is one of the most densely expressing brain areas for cholinergic markers, and actylcholine (ACh) plays an important role in regulating synaptic transmission and cellular excitability. Every cell type in the striatum has receptors for ACh. Yet even for a given cell type, ACh affecting different receptors can have seemingly opposing roles. This review highlights relevant effects of ACh on medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of the striatum and suggests how its many effects may work in concert to modulate MSN firing properties.
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