| dc.description.abstract |
Theraphenucleiconsistofheterogeneousneuronalpopulations,includingserotonergic,dopaminergic,glutamatergic,andGABAergicneurons.Whilemostresearchontheraphehasfocusedonthemodulatoryroleofserotonergicslowsynaptictransmission—giventhepredominanceofserotonergicneurons—growingevidencehighlightsthesignificanceoffastsynaptictransmissionmediatedbyGABAandglutamate.Inparticular,serotonergicneuronsintheraphenucleihavebeenshowntoco-releaseglutamateinmultiplebrainregions,includingthehippocampus,amygdala,andventraltegmentalarea.Notably,thisglutamatergicco-transmissionoftentargetsinhibitoryinterneuronsratherthanexcitatorycells,especiallywithintheamygdalaandhippocampus.Suchfindingssuggestthatfastexcitatorysignalingfromrapheneuronsmaypreferentiallymodulatelocalinhibitorycircuits,therebyshapingtheactivityofdownstreamnetworks.Inthisstudy,weexaminedthefunctionalroleofraphe-drivenfastsynaptictransmissioninmajorprojectionareasofserotonergicneurons.Bycombiningoptogenetics,immunohistochemistry,andconfocalimaging,weidentifiedthatmultiplebrainregionsreceivedi-synapticinputsfromrapheserotonergicneurons,withthehippocampusshowingthemostsignificantfunctionalconnection.Withinthehippocampus,wediscoveredthatglutamateco-releasefromrapheserotonergicneuronsselectivelyenhancestheexcitabilityofCCK-positiveinhibitoryinterneurons.ThismodulationofCCK-expressingneuronshadadownstreameffectontheexcitabilityofCA1pyramidalneuronsandsignificantlyfacilitatedsynapticplasticityatSchaffercollateral–CA1synapses.Ourfindingsunderscorethefunctionalimportanceofraphe-mediatedglutamateco-transmissionandprovidenewinsightsintotheintricatesynapticmodulationexertedbyrapheserotonergicneuronsinthebrain. |
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