3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy, MDMA) and related amphetamines are CNS stimulants that have euphoric, memory-enhancing and neurotoxic properties. When applied in pharmacological doses to cultured rat hippocampal neurons, ecstasy reduced the conductance of a 50-pS barium-sensitive resting K+ channel and increased neuronal excitability. Ecstasy enhanced synaptic strength by irreversib...

Nitrous oxide (N2O; laughing gas) has been a widely used anesthetic/analgesic since the 19th century, although its cellular mechanism of action is not understood. Here we characterize the effects of N2O on excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission in microcultures of rat hippocampal neurons, a preparation in which anesthetic effects on monosynaptic communication can be examined in a setti...

We measured the effective synaptic currents (IN) produced by stimulating the contralateral pyramidal tract (PT) in triceps surae motoneurons of the cat. This is an oligosynaptic pathway in the cat that generates both excitation and inhibition in hindlimb motoneurons. We also determined the effect of the PT synaptic input on the discharge rate of some of the motoneurons by inducing repetitive fi...

Central auditory neurons that localize sound in horizontal space have specialized intrinsic and synaptic cellular mechanisms to tightly control the threshold and timing for action potential generation. However, the critical interplay between intrinsic voltage-gated conductances and extrinsic synaptic conductances in determining neuronal output are not well understood. In chicken, neurons in the...

Kainate receptor-mediated components of postsynaptic currents at hippocampal mossy fiber synapses have markedly slower kinetics than currents arising from AMPA receptors. Here, we demonstrate that other aspects of kainate and AMPA receptor function at this synapse are distinct; in particular, kainate receptor currents are less sensitive to short- and long-term increases in presynaptic strength....

Fast cholinergic neurotransmission between superior cervical ganglion neurons (SCGNs) in cell culture is initiated by N-type Ca(2+) currents through Ca(v)2.2 channels. To test the ability of different Ca(2+)-channel subtypes to initiate synaptic transmission in these cells, SCGNs were injected with cDNAs encoding Ca(v)1.2 channels, which conduct L-type currents, Ca(v)2.1 channels, which conduct...

Modeling synaptic interactions in network models poses a particular challenge. Not only should such models capture the important physiological properties of synaptic ifiteractions, but they must do so in a computationally efficient manner in order to facilitate simulations of large networks. This article reviews several types of models that address these goals. Synaptic currents are mediated by...

The receptive fields of visual cortical neurons are bidirectionally modified by sensory deprivation and experience, but the synaptic basis for these changes is unknown. Here we demonstrate bidirectional, experience-dependent regulation of the composition and function of synaptic NMDA receptors (NMDARs) in visual cortex layer 2/3 pyramidal cells of young rats. Visual experience decreases the pro...