Chunk #36 — Nicotine and ethanol: nAChR-mediated neurotransmission and plasticity — Amygdala and hippocampal complex: learning and memory — Hippocampus
The α7 and α4β2* nAChRs (see Figure 3) are abundantly expressed on GABAergic interneurons and pyramidal cells within the hippocampus and are capable of modulating intracellular signaling molecules and downstream effectors that govern plasticity (Jones and Yakel, 1997; Vizi and Lendvai, 1999). GABAergic interneuron populations express α7 nAChRs on pre-synaptic terminals, whereas somato-dendritic compartments endow both α7 and α4β2* nicotinic receptors (Radcliffe et al., 1999; Alkondon and Albuquerque, 2001). Furthermore, modulation of glutamate synaptic transmission to pyramidal neurons in the CA1 region is attributed to predominately α7 nAChRs but also to a minimal number of α3β4* nAChRs (Gray et al., 1996; Ji et al., 2001; Alkondon and Albuquerque, 2002).
