Plasticity-related binding of GABA and muscarinic receptor sites in piriform cortex of rat: an autoradiographic study.

This study has used the recently developed in vitro quantitative autoradiographic technique to examine the effects of olfactory bulb (OB) removal on receptor-binding sites in the deafferented piriform cortex (PC) of the rat. The gamma-aminobutyric acid-benzodiazepine receptor (GABA-BZR)- and muscarinic cholinergic receptor (MChR)-binding sites in layer I of PC were localized using [3H]flunitrazepam and [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate as ligands, respectively. From the resultant autoradiograms the optical densities were measured using a Drexel-DUMAS image analysis system. The densities of BZR and MChR-binding sites were markedly increased in the PC ipsilateral to the lesion as compared to the contralateral side in those subjects that were operated in adulthood (Postnatal Day 100, PN 100). Comparisons between the unoperated and PN 100 operated animals also showed significant increases in the deafferented PC. In the animals operated on the day of birth (PN 0) no significant differences were seen between the operated and the contralateral PC. The difference between the PN 0 deafferented PC and the unoperated controls shows a slight decrease in BZR density in the former group; however, in case of the MChR there is a slight increase on the side of the lesion. These results demonstrate that deafferentation of PC by OB removal appears to modulate both the BZR-binding sites that are coupled with the GABA-A receptor complex and the MChR-binding sites. The results also suggest that possibility of a role for these neurotransmitter receptor-binding sites in plasticity following deafferentation.