The C-terminal domain of NMDA receptor 2 (NR2) subunits has been proposed to play a critical role in regulating NMDA receptor localization and function in postsynaptic densities. However, the mechanism of this regulation is not completely understood. In this paper we show that C-terminal truncation of NR2A and NR2C subunits in mice (NR2A/C(DeltaC/DeltaC)) impairs synaptic transmission and plast...

The role of histamine in regulating excitability of sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPNs) and the expression of histamine receptor mRNA in SPNs was investigated using whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiological recording techniques combined with single-cell reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in transverse neonatal rat spinal cord slices. Bath application of histamine (1...

AMPA receptors mediate rapid glutamatergic synaptic transmission. In the mammalian cochlear nuclei, neurons receive excitatory input from either auditory nerve fibers, parallel fibers, or both fiber systems. The functional correlates of differences in the source of input were examined by recording AMPA receptor-mediated, miniature EPSCs (mEPSCs) in whole-cell voltage-clamp mode from identified ...

Voltage-gated ion channels in the dendrites and somata of central neurons can modulate the impact of synaptic inputs. One of the ionic currents contributing to such modulation is the fast inactivating A-type potassium current (I(A)). We have investigated the role of I(A) in synaptic integration in rat CA1 pyramidal cells by using arachidonic acid (AA) and heteropodatoxin-3 (HpTX3), a selective ...

Somatostatin (SRIF) modulates neurotransmitter release by activating the specific receptors (sst1-sst5). Our previous study showed that sst5 receptors are expressed in rat retinal GABAergic amacrine cells. Here, we investigated modulation of GABA release by SRIF in cultured amacrine cells, using patch-clamp techniques. The frequency of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) in th...

This work investigated if diverse properties could be ascribed to evoked inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) recorded on rat neostriatal neurons when field stimulation was delivered at two different locations: the globus pallidus (GP) and the neostriatum (NS). Previous work stated that stimulation in the GP could antidromically excite projection axons from medium spiny neurons. This maneuv...

The role of central regulatory circuits in modulating diabetes-associated glucose dysregulation has only recently been under rigorous investigation. One brain region of interest is the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV), which contains preganglionic parasympathetic motor neurons that regulate subdiaphragmatic visceral function. Previous research has demonstrated that glutamatergic and GABA...

Since major cholinergic deficits are observed in Alzheimer's disease, the development of models to study possible cholinergic plasticity has generated great interest. In this regard, it has been shown that lesions of the entorhinal cortex, which sends glutamatergic projections to the hippocampus, promote the sprouting and plasticity of presumptive cholinergic septohippocampal fibers in the dent...

The role of voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCCs) in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR)-mediated enhancement of spontaneous GABAergic inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) was investigated in chick brain slices. Whole cell recordings of neurons in the lateral spiriform (SpL) and ventral lateral geniculate (LGNv) nuclei showed that cadmium chloride (CdCl2) blocked the carbachol...