may, 2024
Event Details
Annalisa Scimemi, PhD, from the Department of Biological Sciences, SUNY Albany, New York, USA will
Event Details
Annalisa Scimemi, PhD, from the Department of Biological Sciences, SUNY Albany, New York, USA will give a talk on “Perseverance versus cognitive flexibility: neuronal glutamate transporters give us a reason not to indulge in either” during the MBExC Lecture on Tuesday, 7 May, 2024 at 1 p.m. at the lecture hall, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Hermann-Rein-Str. 3.
Abstract
Most of what is currently known about glutamate transporters, specifically their ability to maintain glutamate homeostasis and limit glutamate diffusion away from the synaptic cleft, is based on studies of glial glutamate transporters. By contrast, little is known about the functional implications of neuronal glutamate transporters. The neuronal glutamate transporter EAAC1 is widely expressed throughout the brain, particularly in the striatum, the primary input nucleus of the basal ganglia, a region implicated with movement execution and reward. Here, we show that EAAC1 limits synaptic excitation onto a population of striatal medium spiny neurons identified for their expression of D1 dopamine receptors (D1-MSNs). In these cells, EAAC1 also contributes to strengthen lateral inhibition from other D1-MSNs. By reducing the sensitivity and dynamic range of action potential firing in D1-MSNs, EAAC1 limits the propensity of mice to rapidly switch between behaviors associated with different reward probabilities. Together, these findings shed light on some important molecular and cellular mechanisms implicated with behavior flexibility in mice.
Hosts: Prof. Dr. Tobias Moser & Hyojin Kim, PhD, University Medical Center Göttingen
Organizer
MBExC