Cell and Developmental Biology Commons^™

Nicotine Receptors Mediating Sensorimotor Gating And Its Enhancement By Systemic Nicotine, Farena Pinnock, Daniel Bosch, Tyler Brown, Nadine Simons, John R. Yeomans, Cleusa Deoliveira, Susanne Schmid

Anatomy and Cell Biology Publications

Prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle occurs when intensity stimuli precede stronger startle-inducing stimuli by 10–1000 ms. PPI deficits are found in individuals with schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders, and they correlate with other cognitive impairments. Animal research and clinical studies have demonstrated that both PPI and cognitive function can be enhanced by nicotine. PPI has been shown to be mediated, at least in part, by mesopontine cholinergic neurons that project to pontine startle neurons and activate muscarinic and potentially nicotine receptors (nAChRs). The subtypes and anatomical location of nAChRs involved in mediating and modulating PPI remain unresolved. We tested the …