Nucleus-Specific Modulation of Phasic and Tonic Inhibition by Endogenous Neurosteroidogenesis in the Murine Thalamus
November 2019
in “
Synapse
”
TLDR Brain-made chemicals can control nerve cell function differently in various parts of a mouse's brain, which may help us understand neurological conditions.
The 2020 study "Nucleus‐specific modulation of phasic and tonic inhibition by endogenous neurosteroidogenesis in the murine thalamus" investigated the role of neurosteroids, brain-synthesized chemicals, in modulating phasic and tonic inhibition in different areas of the mouse brain. The researchers used 20 mice and applied finasteride, a 5α-reductase inhibitor, to block neurosteroidogenesis. They found that in the thalamic reticular nucleus (nRT), finasteride altered the decay and amplitude of phasic currents but didn't affect tonic inhibition. However, in ventrobasal nucleus (VB) neurons, finasteride reduced both the size and frequency of phasic currents and the degree of tonic inhibition. This suggests that neurosteroids can modulate GABAAR function in a nucleus-specific manner, which could have implications for understanding neurological conditions.
