Nicotinic mechanisms acting on the hippocampus influence attention, learning, and memory and constitute a significant therapeutic target for many neurodegenerative, neurological, and psychiatric disorders. Here, we report that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (1-100 ng/ml), a member of the neurotrophin gene family, rapidly decreases alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor responses in interneurons of the hippocampal CA1 stratum radiatum. Such effect is dependent on the activation of the TrkB receptor and involves the actin cytoskeleton; noteworthy, it is compromised when the extracellular levels of the endogenous neuromodulator adenosine are reduced with adenosine deaminase (1 U/ml) or when adenosine A(2A) receptors are blocked with SCH 58261 (2-(2-furanyl)-7-(2-phenylethyl)-7H-pyrazolo[4,3-e][1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidin-5-amine) (100 nm). The intracellular application of U73122 (1-[6[[(17beta)-3-methoxyestra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17-yl]amino]hexyl]-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione) (5 mum), a broad-spectrum inhibitor of phospholipase C, or GF 109203X (bisindolylmaleimide I) (2 mum), a general inhibitor of protein kinase C isoforms, blocks BDNF-induced inhibition of alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor function. Moreover, in conditions of simultaneous intracellular dialysis of the fast Ca(2+) chelator BAPTA (10 mm) and removal of extracellular Ca(2+) ions, the inhibitory action of BDNF is further prevented. The present findings disclose a novel target for rapid actions of BDNF that might play important roles on synaptic transmission and plasticity in the brain.