Muscarinic cholinergic receptor binding in rat hindlimb somatosensory cortex following partial deafferentation by sciatic nerve transection.

Peripheral nerve injury or amputation leads to extensive changes within the central representations of the mammalian body surface. The mechanisms responsible for post-traumatic reorganization of these maps in adults may also, at least partly, underlie a more general feature of the somatosensory system--the capacity for stimulus-dependent plasticity. Acetylcholine has been implicated in both of these processes. We studied the binding of the ligands 3H]QNB and 3H]pirenzepine in rat hindlimb somatosensory cortex from 1 to 14 days following sciatic nerve transection. Although the 3H]QNB binding was not different from normal levels in tissue homogenates of the affected somatosensory cortex, differences were demonstrated when binding was measured on a layer-by-layer basis. 3H]QNB binding was changed only in certain layers, at certain times. The predominant effects appeared to be a decrease in binding in the middle layers from 4 to 14 days after the transection. Combining the 3H]QNB data with data obtained from the more M1-selective ligand 3H]pirenzepine suggested that complex changes occur among several muscarinic receptors, including receptors with non-M1 subtype characteristics. Moreover, unilateral nerve transection affects the hindlimb somatosensory regions in both hemispheres.