Developmental Nicotine Exposure And Its Effects On Morphology And Electrophysiology Of Hypoglossal Motoneurons In The Neonatal Rat
type: CreativeWork
description: Developmental nicotine exposure (DNE) is known to cause deleterious effects in neonatal mammals through nicotine's actions on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). In this work, we studied how DNE altered the structure and function of the hypoglossal motoneurons (XIIMNs) over the first few days post-parturition. Previous work in XIIMNs demonstrated an increase in cellular excitability (Pilarski et al., 2011), alterations in synaptic transmission among respiratory-related neurons (Wang et al., 2006; Pilarski et al., 2012; Jaiswal et al., 2013), and a reduction in inspiratory drive currents in DNE animals (Pilarski et al., 2011). Here we show that the effects of DNE extend to alterations in the spike-timing precision and reliability of XIIMNs, as well as spike-frequency adaptation. Additionally, simple morphological analysis of XIIMNs following nicotine exposure in utero has revealed a reduction in soma cross-sectional area. We were interested in studying the complete morphology of XIIMNs following DNE to discern its effects on more complex morphological parameters. We advanced this research using a combination of techniques in thin brainstem slices of neonatal rats, including whole cell patch clamp recordings and immunohistochemistry of intracellularly labeled hypoglossal motoneurons. Furthermore, morphological analysis revealed significant differences in the complexity of the dendritic arborization, showing that neurons from DNE animals had shorter dendrites that branched less often. We also used computational analysis to gain insight into mechanisms that may underlie the changes in spike-timing precision and reliability. In a single cell model of XIIMNs, decreases in potassium-dependent conductances such as the calcium-activated potassium current could potentially replicate the alterations seen in vitro. Finally, we also did a systems-level study of the hyoglossus muscle, a tongue retractor, to determine the relation between tongue retraction force and motor …
abstract: Developmental nicotine exposure (DNE) is known to cause deleterious effects in neonatal mammals through nicotine's actions on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). In this work, we studied how DNE altered the structure and function of the hypoglossal motoneurons (XIIMNs) over the first few days post-parturition. Previous work in XIIMNs demonstrated an increase in cellular excitability (Pilarski et al., 2011), alterations in synaptic transmission among respiratory-related neurons (Wang et al., 2006; Pilarski et al., 2012; Jaiswal et al., 2013), and a reduction in inspiratory drive currents in DNE animals (Pilarski et al., 2011). Here we show that the effects of DNE extend to alterations in the spike-timing precision and reliability of XIIMNs, as well as spike-frequency adaptation. Additionally, simple morphological analysis of XIIMNs following nicotine exposure in utero has revealed a reduction in soma cross-sectional area. We were interested in studying the complete morphology of XIIMNs following DNE to discern its effects on more complex morphological parameters. We advanced this research using a combination of techniques in thin brainstem slices of neonatal rats, including whole cell patch clamp recordings and immunohistochemistry of intracellularly labeled hypoglossal motoneurons. Furthermore, morphological analysis revealed significant differences in the complexity of the dendritic arborization, showing that neurons from DNE animals had shorter dendrites that branched less often. We also used computational analysis to gain insight into mechanisms that may underlie the changes in spike-timing precision and reliability. In a single cell model of XIIMNs, decreases in potassium-dependent conductances such as the calcium-activated potassium current could potentially replicate the alterations seen in vitro. Finally, we also did a systems-level study of the hyoglossus muscle, a tongue retractor, to determine the relation between tongue retraction force and motor …
author: Powell, Gregory Leverette
language: en_US
keywords: Development, Hypoglossal, Motoneuron, Motor Unit, Nicotine, Breathing, Physiological Sciences
date published: 2014
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:57:10Z
provider: University of Arizona
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The University of Arizona.

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/337298