Rapid multi-directed cholinergic transmission in the central nervous system

Santhosh Sethuramanujam, Akihiro Matsumoto, Geoff deRosenroll, Benjamin Murphy-Baum, Claudio Grosman, J Michael McIntosh, Miao Jing, Yulong Li, David Berson, Keisuke Yonehara () and Gautam B. Awatramani ()
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Santhosh Sethuramanujam: University of Victoria
Akihiro Matsumoto: Aarhus University
Geoff deRosenroll: University of Victoria
Benjamin Murphy-Baum: University of Victoria
Claudio Grosman: 407 S. Goodwin Ave
J Michael McIntosh: University of Utah
Miao Jing: Peking University School of Life Sciences
Yulong Li: Peking University School of Life Sciences
David Berson: Neuroscience, Brown University
Keisuke Yonehara: Aarhus University
Gautam B. Awatramani: University of Victoria

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract In many parts of the central nervous system, including the retina, it is unclear whether cholinergic transmission is mediated by rapid, point-to-point synaptic mechanisms, or slower, broad-scale ‘non-synaptic’ mechanisms. Here, we characterized the ultrastructural features of cholinergic connections between direction-selective starburst amacrine cells and downstream ganglion cells in an existing serial electron microscopy data set, as well as their functional properties using electrophysiology and two-photon acetylcholine (ACh) imaging. Correlative results demonstrate that a ‘tripartite’ structure facilitates a ‘multi-directed’ form of transmission, in which ACh released from a single vesicle rapidly (~1 ms) co-activates receptors expressed in multiple neurons located within ~1 µm of the release site. Cholinergic signals are direction-selective at a local, but not global scale, and facilitate the transfer of information from starburst to ganglion cell dendrites. These results suggest a distinct operational framework for cholinergic signaling that bears the hallmarks of synaptic and non-synaptic forms of transmission.

Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-21680-9

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21680-9

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