More than 20 years ago, Kuffler (1967) began a review of glial electrophysiology with a summary of hypotheses of glial functions; these functions were much the same as those proposed by Nageotte, Golgi, Lugaro, and Ram6n y Cajal 70 years before him (reviewed by Somjen 1988) and are not substantially changed today. Yet the timelessness of these views may result more from our continued ignorance ...

The effect of HCO(3)(-)/CO(2) on membrane properties of isolated hippocampal CA1 neurons was studied with the use of the whole cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique. Neurons were acutely dissociated from 21- to 30-day-old mice. In the current-clamp mode, HCO(3)(-)/CO(2) significantly hyperpolarized CA1 neurons by more than 10 mV and decreased their input resistance. In addition, the o...

Aconitine-modified sodium channels in the neuroblastoma cell membrane were investigated with patch-clamp technique in outside-out configuration. When aconitine (0.1 mmol/l) was present in the pipette solution two types of modified single sodium channels were observed. The first type showed openings with normal amplitude (slope conductance 15.5 pS) and bursting behaviour. The second type of modi...

We have performed direct electrophysiological recordings from Drosophila peptidergic synaptic boutons in situ, taking advantage of a mutation, ecdysone, which causes an increase in size of these terminals. Using patch-clamp techniques, we have analyzed voltage-dependent potassium currents at the macroscopic and single-channel level. The synaptic membrane contained at least two distinct voltage-...

This study investigated the presence of neuropeptide FF (NPFF) receptors on F-11 cells, a hybridoma derived from rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and mouse neuroblastoma. Binding experiments revealed a low density (4 fmol/mg) of high affinity (0.5 nM) [(3)H]-EYF binding sites in these cells. The whole-cell planar patch-clamp technique showed that dNPA, a selective NPFF(2) agonist, increased the vo...

Membrane capacitance and membrane conductance values are reported for insulin secreting cells (primary -cells and INS-1 insulinoma cells), determined using the methods of dielectrophoresis and electrorotation. The membrane capacitance value of 12.57 (+/-1.46) mFm(-2), obtained for -cells, and the values from 9.96 (+/-1.89) mFm(-2) to 10.65 (+/-2.1) mFm(-2), obtained for INS-1 cells, fall within...

Fast-spiking, parvalbumin-expressing basket cells (BCs) are important for feedforward and feedback inhibition. During network activity, BCs respond with short latency and high temporal precision. It is thought that the specific properties of input synapses are responsible for rapid recruitment. However, a potential contribution of active dendritic conductances has not been addressed. We combine...

Dynamic clamp is a collection of closely related techniques that have been employed in cardiac electrophysiology to provide direct answers to numerous research questions regarding basic cellular mechanisms of action potential formation, action potential transfer and action potential synchronization in health and disease. Building on traditional current clamp, dynamic clamp was initially used to...

3-[(beta-morpholinoethyl)amino]-4-methyl-6-phenylpyridazine (minaprine) is an acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor. 3-Benzidino-6(4-chlorophenyl) pyridazine (BCP) and minaprine have a central pyridazine ring in common. In this study, we investigated the effects of BCP on delayed rectifier potassium current (IK(DR)) and transient outward potassium current (IK(A)) in acutely isolated rat hippoca...