| First Author | Tian MK | Year | 2016 |
| Journal | eNeuro | Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 5 | PubMed ID | 27844060 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:244314 | Mgi Id | MGI:5913093 |
| Doi | 10.1523/ENEURO.0269-16.2016 | Citation | Tian MK, et al. (2016) Serotonergic Suppression of Mouse Prefrontal Circuits Implicated in Task Attention. eNeuro 3(5):ENEURO.0269-16.2016 |
| abstractText | Serotonin (5-HT) regulates attention by neurobiological mechanisms that are not well understood. Layer 6 (L6) pyramidal neurons of prefrontal cortex play an important role in attention and express 5-HT receptors, but the serotonergic modulation of this layer and its excitatory output is not known. Here, we performed whole-cell recordings and pharmacological manipulations in acute brain slices from wild-type and transgenic mice expressing either eGFP or eGFP-channelrhodopsin in prefrontal L6 pyramidal neurons. Excitatory circuits between L6 pyramidal neurons and L5 GABAergic interneurons, including a population of interneurons essential for task attention, were investigated using optogenetic techniques. Our experiments show that prefrontal L6 pyramidal neurons are subject to strong serotonergic inhibition and demonstrate direct 5-HT-sensitive connections between prefrontal L6 pyramidal neurons and two classes of L5 interneurons. This work helps to build a neurobiological framework to appreciate serotonergic disruption of task attention and yields insight into the disruptions of attention observed in psychiatric disorders with altered 5-HT receptors and signaling. |
