A study of cholinergic afferent systems in the prefrontal cortex using pharmacogenetics

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K08160
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: General anatomy (including histology/embryology)
• Research Institution: Toho University
• Principal Investigator: ODA Satoko 東邦大学, 医学部, 講師 (90224237)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 船戸 弘正 東邦大学, 医学部, 准教授 (90363118) ; 恒岡 洋右 東邦大学, 医学部, 講師 (50549011)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: ムスカリン受容体 / M1 / 前頭前皮質 / 免疫多重染色 / 高次認知機能 / DREADD

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We are doing experiments of cerebral cortex activation by DREADD system according to our research plan. Prior to that, the localization of acetylcholine metabotropic M1 receptor in the prefrontal cortex was revealed using multiple immunostaining method. As a result, it was revealed that far more cells contained M1 receptors than those in the past papers. They include excitatory neurons, inhibitory neurons, and astrocytes. Among them, the immunopositivity signals of M1 receptor were particularly strong in the surface astrocytes as well pyramidal cells. This finding strongly suggests that the surface astrocytes function under the control of cholinergic systems.

Free Research Field

神経解剖学