Orexin-A excites pyramidal neurons in layer 2/3 of the rat prefrontal cortex

Autor: Zhian Hu, Jianxia Xia, Dan Zhang, Chao He, Jie Yan
Rok vydání: 2012
Předmět:
Zdroj: Neuroscience Letters. 520:92-97
ISSN: 0304-3940
DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2012.05.038
Popis: The arousal peptides, orexins, play an important role in regulating the function of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Although orexins have been shown to increase the excitability of deep-layer neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), little is known about their effect on layer 2/3, the main intracortical processing layer. In this study, we investigated the effect of orexin-A on pyramidal neurons in layer 2/3 of the mPFC using whole-cell recordings in rat brain slices. We observed that orexin-A reversibly depolarized layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons through a postsynaptic action. This depolarization was concentration-dependent and mediated via orexin receptor 1. In voltage-clamp recordings, the orexin-A-induced current was reduced by the replacement of internal K(+) with Cs(+), removal of external Na(+), or an application of flufenamic acid (an inhibitor of nonselective cation channels). A blocker of Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchangers (SN-6) did not influence the excitatory effect of orexin-A. Moreover, the current induced by orexin-A reversed near E(k) when the external solution contained low levels of Na(+). When recording with Cs(+)-containing pipettes in normal external solution, the reversal potential of the current was approximately -25 mV. These data suggest an involvement of both K(+) channels and nonselective cation channels in the effect of orexin-A. The direct excitatory action of orexin-A on layer 2/3 mPFC neurons may contribute to the modulation of PFC activity, and play a role in cognitive arousal.
Databáze: OpenAIRE