Toluene is one of the most widely used solvents. Electrophysiological studies indicated that this solvent directly affects various ligand gated ion channels including NMDA, GABA(A), nicotinic and glycine receptors. The effect of toluene on seizures induced by chemoconvulsants acting on these receptors was compared. Mice were pretreated with toluene (100-1000 mg/kg, i.p.) or corn oil followed by...

Enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX) is reported to play a significant role in neurodegeneration and may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of epilepsy. Bicuculline (4 mg/kg; ip), picrotoxin (8 mg/kg; ip) and electroshock (60 mA for 0.2 sec) significantly induced convulsions in male Laka mice. COX-inhibitors viz. nimesulide (2.5 mg/kg; ip) and rofecoxib (2 mg/kg, ip) administered 45 minutes pri...

Previous studies had shown that the exogenous cannabinoids can induce anticonvulsion, which was believed to be mediated through the activation of central cannabinoid Type 1 receptors. Moreover, the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide has shown anticonvulsant properties in the in vitro preparations. The current study used 27 adult Sprague-Dawley rats to investigate the effects of another endogenou...

The importance of the lateral habenula-dorsal raphe pathway in the control of in vivo [3H]serotonin release in the cat basal ganglia was examined using the push-pull cannula technique and an isotopic method for the estimation of [3H]serotonin continuously formed from [3H]tryptophan. [3H]Serotonin was measured in both caudate nuclei and substantiae nigra and, in some cases, in the dorsal raphe. ...

AN1, an auditory interneuron in the bushcricket Ancistrura nigrovittata, is narrowly tuned to the male song frequency ( approximately 15 kHz). It receives pronounced inhibitory input at frequencies below and, more prominently, above this fundamental frequency. It is also subject to side-dependent inhibition producing asymmetric response functions for left- and right-side stimulation. In additio...

1 Currents evoked by applications of y-aminobutyric acid (GABA) to acutely dissociated thalamic neurones were analysed by voltage-clamp techniques, and the effects of the anticonvulsant succinimides ethosuximide (ES) and a-methyl-a-phenylsuccinimide (MPS) and the convulsants tetramethylsuccinimide (TMS), picrotoxin, pentylenetetrazol (PTZ), and bicuculline methiodide were assessed. 2 TMS (1 juM...

The interactions of the anthelmintic agent avermectin B1a, the anticonvulsant pentobarbital, and the anxiolytic tracazolate with the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor . chloride ion channel complex in rat brain membrane were studied. The results indicated that they all potentiated ligand binding to the GABA and benzodiazepine receptors. The stimulatory effects of avermectin B1a and pentob...

This study tested the potential role of inhibitory neurotransmission in the mechanism of apneustic respiration evoked by ketamine, an NMDA receptors antagonist. In the experiments performed in anesthetized, paralyzed, and ventilated cats, ketamine, in a dose of 0.5 mg/kg, was administered before and after GABA(A) receptor blockade with picrotoxin or bicuculline; all agents were given intravenou...

introduction: epilepsy is a common central nervous system (cns) disorder characterized by seizures resulting from episodic neuronal discharges. the incidence of toxicity and refractoriness has compromised the clinical efficacy of the drugs currently used for the treatment of convulsions. thus, there is a need to search for new medicines from plant origin that are readily available and safer for...

Considerable controversy surrounds the location of the closed channel gate in members of the Cys-loop receptor family of neurotransmitter-gated ion channels that includes the GABAA, glycine, acetylcholine, and 5-HT3 receptors. Cysteine-accessibility studies concluded that the gate is near the cytoplasmic end of the channel in acetylcholine and GABAA receptors but in the middle of the 5-HT3A rec...