# Action and Interaction of Neurotransmitters and Neuromodulators

> **NIH NIH R35** · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · 2024 · $899,035

## Abstract

Project Abstract
Synaptic transmission has been studied for decades, revealing many of the biochemical cascades that trigger
and regulate neurotransmitter release, molecules that are used for neurotransmission and neuromodulation,
and the postsynaptic consequences of binding these signaling molecules to their receptors. Nevertheless,
many aspects of neurotransmission in the mammalian brain are poorly understood and linking the properties of
synapses to the function of circuits, and eventually to behavior, has been difficult. Our studies in the last few
years have revealed many surprising aspects of neurotransmission including that many neuromodulatory
neurons, including midbrain dopaminergic and basal forebrain cholinergic ones, release GABA and sometimes
use atypical methods of GABA handling. Furthermore, somatostatin neurons of the entopeduncular nucleus
release both GABA and glutamate whereas cholinergic interneurons of cortex are actually a subclass of
vasoactive intestinal peptide GABAergic interneurons. Thus, there are many mysteries surrounding the
neurotransmitter identity of neurons in the mammalian brain as well as how these unexpected features provide
mammalian circuits with specialized functions. Here we propose to use a variety of approaches to understand
the identity of neurons in the mouse brain and how their specialized properties endow the brain with unique
features. The proposed studies build on approximately 20 years of NINDS funded research into the
determinants of the structure and function of mammalian synapses.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10887110
- **Project number:** 1R35NS137336-01
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
- **Principal Investigator:** Bernardo L Sabatini
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $899,035
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-05-01 → 2032-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10887110

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10887110, Action and Interaction of Neurotransmitters and Neuromodulators (1R35NS137336-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10887110. Licensed CC0.

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