@article{1345b1ef7e5144528aefa8cf80654eb9,
title = "Nucleus-specific modulation of phasic and tonic inhibition by endogenous neurosteroidogenesis in the murine thalamus",
abstract = "Neurosteroids are potent allosteric modulators of GABAA receptors (GABAARs). Although the effects of exogenous neurosteroids on GABAAR function are well documented, less is known about effects of neurosteroids produced by local endogenous biosynthesis. The neurosteroidogenic enzymes 5α-reductase and 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase are expressed in two nuclei of somatosensory thalamus, the thalamic reticular nucleus (nRT) and ventrobasal nucleus (VB). Here, the effects of acute blockade of neurosteroidogenesis by the 5α-reductase inhibitor finasteride on phasic and tonic GABAAR-mediated currents were examined in nRT and VB of mice. In nRT, finasteride altered the decay and amplitude, but not the frequency, of phasic currents, with no effect on tonic inhibition. In VB neurons, by contrast, finasteride reduced both the size and frequency of phasic currents, and also reduced the degree of tonic inhibition. These studies thus provide novel evidence for endogenous modulation of GABAAR function by 5α-reduced neurosteroids in the mature thalamus.",
keywords = "GABA, finasteride, neurosteroid, thalamus, tonic inhibition",
author = "Christian, {Catherine A.}",
note = "Funding Information: Catherine A. Christian cathchri@illinois.edu Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford CA USA Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign Urbana IL USA Neuroscience Program University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign Urbana IL USA Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign Urbana IL USA finasteride GABA neurosteroid thalamus tonic inhibition Stanford University School of Medicine Katharine McCormick Advanced Postdoctoral Fellowsh Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy Taking Flight Award National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke R01 NS034774 R01 NS105825 R03 NS103029 Funding Information: C.A.C. thanks Dr. John Huguenard for allowing her to conduct this work in his laboratory (with support from NIH/NINDS grant R01 NS034774) and for helpful editorial comments. During the performance of this work, C.A.C. was supported by a Katharine McCormick Advanced Postdoctoral Fellowship from Stanford University School of Medicine and a Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) Taking Flight Award. C.A.C. is currently supported by NIH/NINDS grants R01 NS105825 and R03 NS103029. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.",
year = "2020",
month = may,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1002/syn.22144",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "74",
journal = "Synapse",
issn = "0887-4476",
publisher = "Wiley-Liss Inc.",
number = "5",
}