Summary: A groundbreaking discovery in brain chemistry has been unveiled by researchers. Wave-like patterns of the neurochemical acetylcholine have been identified in the striatum, a region crucial for motivating actions. This discovery complements previous findings of similar patterns in dopamine, another essential neurochemical in the same area. The study not only highlights the delicate balance between these neurochemicals, but also proposes a revolutionary interaction model that may provide insights into movement disorders.
Key Facts:
- Pioneering Discovery: This study is the first-ever description of wave-like patterns of acetylcholine in the striatum of healthy behaving animals.
- Singular Trigger: Activation of just one acetylcholine-releasing neuron can induce local dopamine release.
- Novel Interaction Model: The research introduces a new mathematical model explaining the simultaneous generation of both acetylcholine and dopamine waves, challenging traditional beliefs about neuronal interactions.
Source: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
In a new study, led by Dr. Joshua Goldberg from the Hebrew University, researchers describe a new kind of neurochemical wave in the brain.
Their research, published in Nature Communications, unveils the existence of traveling waves of the neurochemical acetylcholine in the striatum, a region responsible for motivating actions and habitual behaviors.
The release of dopamine has long been associated with the motivation to execute an action within the striatum. Recent research has demonstrated that dopamine is released in wave-like patterns in this region.
Dr. Goldberg’s team discovered that acetylcholine is also released in wave-like patterns in the striatum. It has traditionally been believed that maintaining a balance between dopamine and acetylcholine release in the striatum is crucial for proper functioning, and disruptions to this balance can lead to movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease.
The study proposes a mathematical model that explains the simultaneous generation of these acetylcholine and dopamine waves, challenging traditional beliefs about neuronal interactions.
The research utilized advanced genetic tools and imaging techniques to visualize the acetylcholine waves in awake, behaving animals. The interaction between acetylcholine and dopamine was also observed in vitro using imaging techniques.
Through rigorous mathematical analysis and computer simulations, the team developed a model that explains the formation of both acetylcholine (the activator) and dopamine (the inhibitor) traveling waves.
Key Highlights of the Study:
- First description of acetylcholine waves: This study is the first to describe wave-like patterns of acetylcholine in the striatum of healthy behaving animals.
- Local Dopamine Release is Triggered by individual non-dopamine neurons: The study demonstrated that electrical activation of a single acetylcholine-releasing neuron in the striatum is sufficient to induce local dopamine release in its proximity.
- A novel model for how the two neurochemical waves arise simultaneously: The study proposes a novel mathematical model based on the known interaction between acetylcholine and dopamine in the striatum, which can generate these waves simultaneously.
The study also makes testable predictions about the relationship between these two wave phenomena and the neural mechanisms underlying their formation.
Furthermore, the study suggests that dopamine and acetylcholine axons, the long projections of their respective neurons, directly interact within the striatum, contrary to traditional beliefs about neuronal interactions.
About this neuroscience research news
Author: Danae Marx
Source: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Contact: Danae Marx – Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Acetylcholine waves and dopamine release in the striatum” by Joshua Goldberg et al. Neuroscience News
Abstract:
Acetylcholine waves and dopamine release in the striatum
Striatal dopamine encodes reward, with recent work showing that dopamine release occurs in spatiotemporal waves. However, the mechanism of dopamine waves is unknown.
In this study, we report the wave activity of acetylcholine release in the mouse striatum and the extension of the spatial scale of striatal dopamine release by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.
Based on these findings, and our demonstration that single cholinergic interneurons can induce dopamine release, we hypothesized that the local reciprocal interaction between cholinergic interneurons and dopamine axons is sufficient to drive endogenous traveling waves.
We show that the morphology and physiology of ch
