Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 shows different patterns of localization within the parallel visual pathways in macaque and squirrel monkeys

Eye and Brain
Yuri ShostakV A Casagrande

Abstract

Glutamate is used as an excitatory neurotransmitter by the koniocellular (K), magnocellular (M), and parvocellular (P) pathways to transfer signals from the primate lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) to primary visual cortex (V1). Glutamate acts through both fast ionotropic receptors, which appear to carry the main sensory message, and slower, modulatory metabotropic receptors (mGluRs). In this study, we asked whether mGluR5 relates in distinct ways to the K, M, and P LGN axons in V1. To answer this question, we used light microscopic immunocytochemistry and preembedding electron microscopic immunogold labeling to determine the localization of mGluR5 within the layers of V1 in relation to the K, M, and P pathways in macaque and squirrel monkeys. These pathways were labeled separately via wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) injections targeting the LGN layers. mGluR5 is of interest because it: 1) has been shown to be expressed in the thalamic input layers; 2) appears to be responsible for some types of oscillatory firing, which could be important in the binding of visual features; and 3) has been associated with a number of sensory-motor gating-related pathologies, including schizophrenia and autism. Our results...Continue Reading

Methods Mentioned

BETA
Light microscopy

Software Mentioned

CombineZP Image Stacking

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