2019 Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience

13-16 September 2019    Berlin, Germany

Technical Program

Paper Detail

Paper: PS-1A.45
Session: Poster Session 1A
Location: H Lichthof
Session Time: Saturday, September 14, 16:30 - 19:30
Presentation Time:Saturday, September 14, 16:30 - 19:30
Presentation: Poster
Publication: 2019 Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience, 13-16 September 2019, Berlin, Germany
Paper Title: The Impact of Acetylcholine on Basolateral Amygdala Macrocircuits
Manuscript:  Click here to view manuscript
License: Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.32470/CCN.2019.1383-0
Authors: Evelyne Tantry, Rice University, United States; Joshua Ortiz-Guzman, Benjamin Arenkiel, Baylor College of Medicine, United States
Abstract: Neural circuits governing food intake have been widely studied. However, our current understanding hinges on a binary hypothalamic neuronal model that fails to address more adaptive feeding behaviors underpinning variable environmental conditions. Previous work in our lab posits an extra-hypothalamic circuit involving the cholinergic-rich diagonal band of Broca (DBB) and the valence encoding basolateral amygdala (BLA). To further analyze this circuit, we use a projection defined approach to characterize the cellular composition of the BLA. We used a stereotactic frame for bilateral injections of channelrhodopsin and tdTomato containing viruses into the DBB, and the nucleus accumbens (NAc) or the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA), respectively. The latter regions were chosen because of their established involvement in feeding. We then determined projection profiles of BLA cells using channelrhodopsin assisted circuit mapping (CRACM) and optogenetics, and found that neurons projecting to the LHA exclusively possess fast-acting nicotinic synapses, whereas neurons expressing slow-acting muscarinic synapses project exclusively to the NAc. The contrasting nature these receptors indicate there to be more dynamic neural regions involved in orchestrating complex feeding behaviors.