“Neuroanatomical Investigations of Basal Forebrain GABAergic and Glutamatergic Neurons”

The ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) is responsible for the cortical activation indicative of wakefulness. Our laboratory’s recent transgenic mouse models now allow detailed evaluation of GABAergic and glutamatergic neuronal subtypes in the basal forebrain, which is the ventral sub-cortical node of the ARAS. Such neuroanatomical validation allows further study of the role of basal forebrain GABAergic, cholinergic, and glutamatergic neurons in sleep-wake behavior, using in vitro and in vivo optogenetic approaches. Our findings indicate that basal forebrain cholinergic, glutamatergic, and GABAergic systems likely work synergistically to promote wakefulness and cortical activation. Publications: 1: Kim T, Thankachan S, McKenna JT, McNally JM, Yang C, Choi JH, Chen L, Kocsis B, Deisseroth K, Strecker RE, Basheer R, Brown RE, McCarley RW. Cortically projecting basal forebrain parvalbumin neurons regulate cortical gamma band oscillations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Mar 17;112(11):3535-40. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1413625112. Epub 2015 Mar 2. Erratum in: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 May 26;112(21):E2848. PubMed PMID: 25733878; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4371918. 2: Yang C, McKenna JT, Zant JC, Winston S, Basheer R, Brown RE. Cholinergic neurons excite cortically projecting basal forebrain GABAergic neurons. J Neurosci. 2014 Feb 19;34(8):2832-44. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3235-13.2014. PubMed PMID: 24553925; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3931499. 3: McKenna JT, Yang C, Franciosi S, Winston S, Abarr KK, Rigby MS, Yanagawa Y, McCarley RW, Brown RE. Distribution and intrinsic membrane properties of basal forebrain GABAergic and parvalbumin neurons in the mouse. J Comp Neurol. 2013 Apr 15;521(6):1225-50. doi: 10.1002/cne.23290. PubMed PMID: 23254904; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3627393.