QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: jpet.105.100552v1 318/2/629    most recent Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by DuBois, D. W. Articles by McCool, B. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by DuBois, D. W. Articles by McCool, B. A.

NEUROPHARMACOLOGY

Distinct Functional Characteristics of the Lateral/Basolateral Amygdala GABAergic System in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J Mice

Department of Physiology and Pharmacology (D.W.D., A.P., D.W.F., J.L.W., B.A.M.) and the Alcohol Research Training Program (D.W.D.), Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

It is generally understood that genetic mechanisms contribute to pathological anxiety and that C57BL/6 (B6) and DBA/2J (D2) mice, inbred strains differing markedly in their anxiety-like behaviors, may represent a model system to study these contributions. Because lateral/basolateral amygdala (BLA) GABA_A receptors help regulate anxiety-like behaviors, we have tested the hypothesis that differences in receptor function/expression may be related to strain-specific differences in experimentally measured anxiety. First, we demonstrated that anxiety-like behaviors in two separate assays were more substantial in D2 mice. Then, using whole-cell electrophysiology of isolated neurons, we found that D2 BLA neurons expressed significantly greater GABA-gated responses than B6 BLA neurons. This was specific for GABA_A receptors, because N-methyl-D-aspartate-gated responses were similar between strains. At the molecular level, this increased GABA_A function was associated with higher levels of ₂ subunit mRNA expression in D2 BLA. Finally, to understand the ramifications of these functional and molecular biological differences, we examined both electrically evoked GABAergic responses and spontaneous synaptic currents using whole-cell recordings with in vitro slice preparations. Presynaptic GABAergic function was more robust in D2 compared with B6 slices. Together, our findings suggest that genetic mechanisms differentially represented in these two inbred mouse strains lead to robust differences in pre- and postsynaptic aspects of amygdala GABAergic function.

Address correspondence to: Dr. Brian McCool, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd., Winston-Salem, NC 27157. E-mail: bmccool{at}wfubmc.edu

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. K. Lack, M. R. Diaz, A. Chappell, D. W. DuBois, and B. A. McCool Chronic Ethanol and Withdrawal Differentially Modulate Pre- and Postsynaptic Function at Glutamatergic Synapses in Rat Basolateral Amygdala J Neurophysiol, December 1, 2007; 98(6): 3185 - 3196. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]