there are some conflicts about constancy of conduction velocity (cv) in a given tract of nervous system. by recording excitatory postsynaptic currents (epsc) in layer iv of the somatosensory cortex we tried to clear changes in cv of thalamocortical tract of mice aged 3 to 50 days old. field potentials and epsc were recorded in the layer iv by stimulation of ventrobasal nucleus of thalamus (vb) ...

background: ketamine is a commonly used intravenous anesthetic which produces dissociation anesthesia, analgesia, and amnesia. the mechanism of ketamine-induced synaptic inhibition in high-level cortical areas is still unknown. we aimed to elucidate the effects of different concentrations of ketamine on the glutamatergic synaptic transmission of the neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex b...

Background: Ketamine is a commonly used intravenous anesthetic which produces dissociation anesthesia, analgesia, and amnesia. The mechanism of ketamine-induced synaptic inhibition in high-level cortical areas is still unknown. We aimed to elucidate the effects of different concentrations of ketamine on the glutamatergic synaptic transmission of the neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex b...

High-frequency activity produces transient depression at many synapses but also, as recently demonstrated, may accelerate the recovery from use-dependent depression. We have examined the possible consequences of this synaptic mechanism in neocortical excitatory synapses by recording simultaneously from presynaptic pyramidal neurons and their postsynaptic targets. Brief bursts of high-frequency ...

Records of excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) are often complex, with overlapping signals that display a large range of amplitudes. Statistical analysis of the kinetics and amplitudes of such complex EPSCs is nonetheless essential to the understanding of transmitter release. We therefore developed a maximum-likelihood blind deconvolution algorithm to detect exocytotic events in complex EP...

The existence of vesicular docking sites in central synapses is supported by morphological and biochemical evidence, but their functional role remains elusive. To investigate this role we have studied single depressing GABAergic synapses where multivesicular release and postsynaptic receptor saturation have been documented. We used failure/success patterns to estimate the number of vesicular do...

Voltage-clamp recordings from layer II neurones in somatosensory cortex of rats aged between 12 and 17 days showed a high frequency of spontaneous postsynaptic currents (sPSCs), which on average was 33 +/- 13 Hz (s.d.). sPSCs were mediated largely by glutamatergic AMPA receptors. Their rates and amplitudes were independent of blocking sodium channels with 1 microM tetrodotoxin (TTX). Most of th...

Structural malformations of the cortex, arising as a result of genetic mutation or injury during development are associated with dyslexia, epilepsy, and other neurological deficits. We have used a rat model of a microgyral malformation to examine mechanisms of epileptogenesis. Our previous studies showed that the frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) recorded in neoco...

introduction: in the present work, spontaneous postsynaptic currents were assessed to investigate the postnatal development of excitatory postsynaptic currents in locus coeruleus neurons. methods: in this study, ampa and nmda receptor-mediated spontaneous synaptic currents in the neurons of locus coeruleus were assessed using whole cell voltage-clamp recording during the first three weeks. resu...

Acute morphine exposure induces antinociceptive activity, but the underlying mechanisms in the central nervous system are unclear. Using whole-cell patch clamp recordings, we explore the role of morphine in the modulation of excitatory synaptic transmission in lateral amygdala neurons of rats. The results demonstrate that perfusion of 10 microM of morphine to the lateral amygdala inhibits the d...