Cholinergic activation of nicotinic receptors in the cortex plays a critical role in arousal, attention, and learning. Here we demonstrate that cholinergic axons from the basal forebrain of mice excite a specific subset of cortical interneurons via a remarkably slow, non-α7 nicotinic receptor-mediated conductance. In turn, these inhibitory cells generate a delayed and prolonged wave of disynaptic inhibition in neighboring cortical neurons, altering the spatiotemporal pattern of inhibition in cortical circuits.

I benefited greatly from his advice and feedback, as well as from the detours he allowed me to take. As the years have passed and the number of students I've met at the Optical Sciences Center has grown, I've come to realize how fortunate I was to join Art's group. I would also like to thank Steve Dvorak, Jack Gaskill, Tony Caruso, and Evan Unger who successively provided funding for me over much of the last five years. Without tinancial support from these individuals, my graduate school experience would have been much less fruitful. I learned as much from my "day jobs" as I did from my dissertation research. My fellow students have greatly enhanced my graduate school experience.

The use of reflected light confocal microscopy is proposed to rapidly observe unfixed, unstained biopsy specimens of human skin. Reflected light laser scanning confocal microscopy was used to compare a freshly excised, unfixed, unstained biopsy specimen, and in vivo human skin. Optical sections from the ex vivo biopsy specimen of human skin and in vivo human skin were converted to red-green anaglyphs for threedimensional visualization. Contrast was derived from intrinsic differences in the scattering properties of the organelles and cells within the tissue. Individual cellular layers were observed in both tissues from the surface to the papillary dermis. Confocal microscopy of an unfixed, unstained biopsy specimen showed cells and cell nuclei of the stratum spinosum. Confocal microscopy of in vivo human skin demonstrated optical sectioning through a hair shaft on the upper hand. The combination of reflected light confocal microscopy and threedimensional visualization with red-green anaglyphs provides a rapid technique for observing fresh biopsies of human skin.

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SUMMARY Animal behavior is motivated by internal drives, such as thirst and hunger, generated in hypothalamic neurons that project widely to many brain areas. We find that water-restricted mice maintain stable, high-level contrast sensitivity and brief reaction time while performing a visual task, but then abruptly stop and become disengaged. Mice consume a significant amount of water when freely provided in their home cage immediately after the task, indicating that disengagement does not reflect cessation of thirst. Neuronal responses of V1 neurons are reduced in the disengaged state, but pupil diameter does not decrease, suggesting that animals’ reduced level of arousal does not drive the transition to disengagement. Our findings indicate that satiation level alone does not have an instructive role in visually guided behavior and suggest that animals’ behavior is governed by cost-benefit analysis that can override thirst signals.

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