Bath-applied monoamines-dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), and noradrenaline (NE)-strongly suppress the perforant path (PP) input to CA1 hippocampal region with very little effect on the Schaffer collaterals (SC) input. The effect of DA action on PP field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP) has been characterized in detail, but relatively little is known about the NE and 5-HT effects. Here ...

Growing evidence indicates that Wingless-type (Wnt) signaling plays an important role in the maturation of the central nervous system. We report here that Wingless-type family member 5A (Wnt-5a) is expressed early in development and stimulates dendrite spine morphogenesis, inducing de novo formation of spines and increasing the size of the preexisting ones in hippocampal neurons. Wnt-5a increas...

When they are 1-2 mo old, domesticated Mongolian gerbils begin having initially mild seizures which become more severe with age. To evaluate the development of this increasing seizure severity, we obtained field potential responses of the dentate gyrus to paired-pulse stimulation of the perforant path during seizures. In 18 gerbils that were 1.5-8.0 mo old, 73 seizures were analyzed. We measure...

The impact of pentylenetetrazol-induced kindling on the effectiveness of theta pattern primed-bursts (PBs) for the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) of field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSP) and population spikes (PS) were investigated in hippocampal CA1 of pentylenetetrazol-kindled rats in vivo. The results showed that shortly after kindling, control animals had normal LTP of...

High pressure (>1.0 MPa) induces the high-pressure neurological syndrome (HPNS) characterized by increased excitability of the CNS and cognitive impairments involving memory disorders. The perforant-path transfer of cortical information to the hippocampal formation is important for memory acquisition. High pressure may alter information transfer in this connection. We used rat corticohippocampa...

BACKGROUND Effects of volatile anesthetic agents on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated excitatory synaptic transmission have not been well characterized. The authors compared effects produced by halothane and isoflurane on electrophysiologic properties of NMDA and non-NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic responses in slices from the rat hippocampus. METHODS Field excitatory postsynaptic...

Field potential recording was used to investigate properties of synaptic transmission and long-term potentiation (LTP) at Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses in both hippocampal slices of mutant mice in which the alpha-subunit of the olfactory cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (alpha3/OCNC)1 was rendered null and also in slices prepared from their wild-type (Wt) littermates. Several measures of basa...

Anxiety disorders commonly occur in Parkinson's disease. Using field potential recording and patch-clamp recording, we evaluated influence of MPTP-reduced dopaminergic afferent in basolateral amygdala (BLA), a main region for affective regulation, on excitatory-inhibitory circuits and synaptic plasticity. Field excitatory post-synaptic potential (fEPSP) slopes at external capsule-BLA synapses w...

5-HT(4) receptor agonists facilitate synaptic transmission in the enteric nervous system, and these drugs are used to treat constipation. In the present study, we investigated the effects of the 5-HT(4) receptor agonist, renzapride, on rundown and recovery of fast excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) during and after trains of stimulation and on transmitter release from individual myente...