Fast inhibitory synaptic inputs, which cause conductance changes that typically last for 10–100 ms, participate in the generation and maintenance of cortical rhythms. We show here that these fast events can have influences that outlast the duration of the synaptic potentials by interacting with subthreshold membrane potential oscillations. Inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) in cortical ...

Glutamatergic transmission at central synapses undergoes activity-dependent and developmental changes. In the hippocampal dentate gyrus, the non-N-methyl d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor component of field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) increases with age in Fischer-344 rats. This effect may not depend on the animal's activity or experience but could be part of the developmental process...

Neurons of the visual cortex of the cat were penetrated with intracellular electrodes and postsynaptic potentials evoked by visual stimuli recorded. By alternately polarizing the cell with steady current injected through the recording electrode, IPSPs and EPSPs could be recorded and analyzed independently. Hyperpolarizing current suppressed IPSPs and enhanced EPSPs by moving the membrane potent...

The hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) plays a critical role in cardiovascular and neuroendocrine regulation. ANG II (ANG) acts throughout the periphery in the maintenance of fluid-electrolyte homeostasis and has also been demonstrated to act as a neurotransmitter in PVN exerting considerable influence on neuronal excitability in this nucleus. The mechanisms underlying the ANG-mediated ...

The voltage clamp technique is frequently used to examine the strength and composition of synaptic input to neurons. Even accounting for imperfect voltage control of the entire cell membrane ("space clamp"), it is often assumed that currents measured at the soma are a proportional indicator of the postsynaptic conductance. Here, using NEURON simulation software to model somatic recordings from ...

Intracellular responses during phasic Electroencephalograph (EEG) arousal were recorded from 229 motor cortical neurons in the cat encéphale isolé preparations. Identified dominant responses were excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) in 105 cells (E cells), inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) in 74 cells (I cells), disfacilitation in 48 cells (DF cells), and disinhibition in two cel...

AIM To study the effects of adrenoceptor agonists on the stellate ganglion neurons. METHODS Intracellular recordings were made from neurons of the isolated rat stellate ganglia. RESULTS Noradrenaline and clonidine (10-30 mumol.L-1) reversibly depressed 3 types of calcium-dependent potentials, namely, the action potential shoulder; the spike after-hyperpolarization; the Ca2+ spike evoked in ...

Synaptic transmission throughout most of the CNS is steeply dependent on presynaptic calcium influx through the voltage-gated calcium channels Cav2.1-Cav2.3. In addition to triggering exocytosis, this calcium influx also recruits short-term synaptic plasticity. During the complex patterns of presynaptic activity that occur in vivo, several forms of plasticity combine to generate a synaptic outp...

Associative long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression of compound and unitary CA3-CA excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) were investigated in rat hippocampal slice cultures. The induction of LTP with synchronous pairing of synaptic activation and postsynaptic depolarization resulted in an increase in the amplitude of EPSPs to the same absolute level, regardless of whether the input was...

Most excitatory inputs in the CNS contact dendritic spines, avoiding dendritic shafts, so spines must play a key role for neurons. Recent data suggest that, in addition to enhancing connectivity and isolating synaptic biochemistry, spines can behave as electrical compartments independent from their parent dendrites. It is becoming clear that, although spines experience voltages similar to those...