Granule and periglomerular cells in the main olfactory bulb express group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). The group I mGluR agonist 3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG) increases GABAergic spontaneous IPSCs (sIPSCs) in mitral cells, yet the presynaptic mechanism(s) involved and source(s) of the IPSCs are unknown. We investigated the actions of DHPG on sIPSCs and TTX-insensitive miniat...

The electrical activities of myometrial cells of the pregnant rabbit uterus have been studied by means of sucrose-gap and intracellular micro-electrode recording techniques. The resting potential of the myometrial cell was about -50 mv, and it is unaffected by the duration of pregnancy or placental attachment. Action potentials of the myometrium, although dependent on external Na(+), were not a...

This paper presents the effects of spontaneous random activity on information transmission in an auditory brain stem neuron model. In computer simulations, the supra-threshold synaptic current stimuli ascending from auditory nerve fibers (ANFs) were modeled by a filtered inhomogeneous Poisson process modulated by sinusoidal functions at a frequency of 220–3520 Hz with regard to the human speech...

Azaspiracid-1 (AZA-1) is a recently identified phycotoxin that accumulates in molluscs and can cause severe human intoxications. For this study, we utilized murine spinal cord and frontal cortex neuronal networks grown over 64 channel microelectrode arrays (MEAs) to gain insights into the mechanism of action of AZA-1 on neuronal cells. Extracellular recordings of spontaneous action potentials w...

Neurons of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) are very sensitive to applied currents, firing at 10-20/s during spontaneous activity, but increasing to peak firing rates of 200/s with applied currents <0.5 nA. They receive a powerful tonic excitatory input from neurons in the cerebral cortex, yet in vivo maintain an irregular firing rate only slightly higher than the autonomous firing rate seen in sl...

In this study, the influence of nitric oxide (NO) and adenosine systems on penicillin-induced epileptiform activity was examined in rats. NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 50 micrograms per rat, i.c.v.) reduced the frequency but not the amplitude of epileptiform discharges. Non-selective NOS inhibitor, N-omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 100 micrograms per rat, i.c.v.) practically...

Our results suggest that the prominent spike, commonly recorded in wide field amacrine cells, is actively propagated along its processes. Current was passed through a patch pipette at the soma to elicit spike activity in the cell. The field potentials accompanying this spike activity were then measured with an extracellular electrode positioned at different sites along the cell and its processe...

A natural biosorbent containing amine functional groups, chitosan, and a novel sorbent, chitosan-immobilized sodium silicate, were prepared and utilized for the selective sorption of As(V) from waters prior to its determination by atomic spectrometric techniques, namely, hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HGAAS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Chitosan...