Effects of Ethanol on Sensory Inputs to the Medial Giant Interneurons of Crayfish
Effects of Ethanol on Sensory Inputs to the Medial Giant Interneurons of Crayfish
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Date
2018-04-27
Authors
Swierzbinski, Matthew E.
Herberholz, Jens
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Citation
Swierzbinski ME and Herberholz J (2018) Effects of Ethanol on Sensory Inputs to the Medial Giant Interneurons of Crayfish. Front. Physiol. 9:448. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2018.00448
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Abstract
Crayfish are capable of two rapid, escape reflexes that are mediated by two pairs of
giant interneurons, the lateral giants (LG) and the medial giants (MG), which respond
to threats presented to the abdomen or head and thorax, respectively. The LG has
been the focus of study for many decades and the role of GABAergic inhibition on the
escape circuit is well-described. More recently, we demonstrated that the LG circuit
is sensitive to the acute effects of ethanol and this sensitivity is likely mediated by
interactions between ethanol and the GABAergic system. The MG neurons, however,
which receive multi-modal sensory inputs and are located in the brain, have been less
studied despite their established importance during many naturally occurring behaviors.
Using a combination of electrophysiological and neuropharmacological techniques, we
report here that the MG neurons are sensitive to ethanol and experience an increase
in amplitudes of post-synaptic potentials following ethanol exposure. Moreover, they
are affected by GABAergic mechanisms: the facilitatory effect of acute EtOH can be
suppressed by pretreatment with a GABA receptor agonist whereas the inhibitory effects
resulting from a GABA agonist can be occluded by ethanol exposure. Together, our
findings suggest intriguing neurocellular interactions between alcohol and the crayfish
GABAergic system. These results enable further exploration of potentially conserved
neurochemical mechanisms underlying the interactions between alcohol and neural
circuitry that controls complex behaviors.
Notes
Partial funding for Open Access provided by the UMD Libraries' Open Access Publishing Fund.