During rodent corticogenesis, a sizeable subpopulation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic interneurons arises extracortically from the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE). These neurons progressively acquire responsiveness to GABA in the course of corticopetal tangential migration, a process regulated by ambient GABA and mediated by GABA(A) receptors. Here, we combined patch clamp electrophysiolog...

The inhibitory amino acid, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), plays a critical role in the substantia nigra (SN) in health and disease. GABA transmission is controlled in part by the type(s) of GABA receptor expressed, their subunit composition and their location in relation to GABA release sites. In order to define the subcellular localization of GABA(A) receptors in the SN in normal and patholog...

Changes in GABA(A) receptors are observed in schizophrenia, with benzodiazepine-sensitive GABA(A) receptor subtypes being affected differently to other subtypes. However, long-term antipsychotic drug use in schizophrenia may underlie these changes. To test this, we examined the effects of administering a typical (haloperidol) and an atypical (olanzapine) antipsychotic drug on the GABA(A) recept...

Stargazer mice fail to express the gamma2 isoform of transmembrane alpha-amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) receptor regulatory proteins that has been shown to be absolutely required for the trafficking and synaptic targeting of excitatory AMPA receptors in adult murine cerebellar granule cells. Here we show that 30 +/- 6% fewer inhibitory gamma-aminobutyric acid, type A (GA...

The entorhinal cortex (EC) is regarded as the gateway to the hippocampus and thus is essential for learning and memory. Whereas the EC expresses a high density of GABA(B) receptors, the functions of these receptors in this region remain unexplored. Here, we examined the effects of GABA(B) receptor activation on neuronal excitability in the EC and spatial learning. Application of baclofen, a spe...

Given the complex interactions between dopamine D1 and glutamate NMDA receptors in the striatum, we investigated the role of these receptors in transporter-mediated GABA release from cultured medium spiny neurons of rat striatum. Like NMDA receptor-mediated [(3)H]-GABA release, that induced by prolonged (20 min) dopamine D1 receptor activation was enhanced on omission of external calcium, was a...

1 others did not find any evidence for subtypes (Wald-pression pattern of the two cloned subunits matches University of Geneva the brain distribution of GABA B binding sites (Bischoff CH-1211 Geneva 4 et al., 1999), and the heterodimeric GABA B(1,2) receptor Switzerland was shown to activate all well-characterized GABA B ef-fector pathways in transfected cells (Marshall et al., 1999). These fin...

Extracellular matrix molecules are important cues in the shaping of nervous system structure and function. Here, we describe a novel mechanism by which the HNK-1 carbohydrate carried by recognition molecules regulates perisomatic inhibition in the hippocampus. Neutralization of HNK-1 activity by an HNK-1 antibody results in GABA(B) receptor-mediated activation of K(+) currents in CA1 pyramidal ...

The role of ANG type 1 (AT1) receptors in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) in the maintenance of sympathetic vasomotor tone in normotensive animals is unclear. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that AT1 receptors make a significant contribution to the tonic activity of presympathetic neurons in the RVLM of normotensive rats under conditions where the excitatory input to these neur...