Gene expression profiles of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in brain regions relating to filial imprinting of newly-hatched domestic chicks

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) in the central nervous system play an important role in regulating complex functions such as learning, memory, and selective attention. Five subtypes of the mAChRs (M1-M5) have been identified in mammals, and are classified into two subfamilies: excitatory (M1, M3, and M5) and inhibitory (M2 and M4) subfamilies. Filial imprinting of domestic chicks is a useful model in the laboratory to investigate the mechanisms of memory formation in early learning. We recently found that mAChRs in the intermediate medial mesopallium (IMM) are involved in the memory formation of imprinting. However, expression profiles of each mAChR subtype in the brain regions including the IMM remain unexplored. Here we show the unique gene expression of each mAChR subtype in the pallial regions involved in imprinting. In terms of the excitatory mAChRs, M5 was expressed in the IMM region and other parts of the pallium, whereas M3 was less expressed in the IMM but highly expressed in the hyperpallium and nidopallium. Regarding the inhibitory mAChRs, M2 was sparsely distributed but clearly in some cells throughout the pallial regions. M4 was highly expressed in the IMM region and other parts of the pallium. These expression profiles can be used as a basis for understanding cholinergic modulation in the memory formation of imprinting and other learning processes in birds, and compared to those of mammals. •Each mAChR subtype differentially expressed in brain regions relating to imprinting of domestic chicks.•Pallial regions such as the hippocampus showed a unique mAChR expression pattern compared to those of the mammalian brain.•The thalamus and midbrain showed similar expression mAChR patterns to those of mammals.