Cell-specific modulation of plasticity and cortical state by cholinergic inputs to the visual cortex

Acetylcholine (ACh) modulates diverse vital brain functions. Cholinergic neurons from the basal forebrain innervate a wide range of cortical areas, including the primary visual cortex (V1), and multiple cortical cell types have been found to be responsive to ACh. Here we review how different cell ty...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sugihara, Hiroki, Chen, Naiyan, Sur, Mriganka
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: Elsevier 2018
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113085
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2442-5671
Description
Summary:Acetylcholine (ACh) modulates diverse vital brain functions. Cholinergic neurons from the basal forebrain innervate a wide range of cortical areas, including the primary visual cortex (V1), and multiple cortical cell types have been found to be responsive to ACh. Here we review how different cell types contribute to different cortical functions modulated by ACh. We specifically focus on two major cortical functions: plasticity and cortical state. In layer II/III of V1, ACh acting on astrocytes and somatostatin-expressing inhibitory neurons plays critical roles in these functions. Cell type specificity of cholinergic modulation points towards the growing understanding that even diffuse neurotransmitter systems can mediate specific functions through specific cell classes and receptors.