High pressure (>1.0 MPa) induces the high-pressure neurological syndrome (HPNS) characterized by increased excitability of the CNS and cognitive impairments involving memory disorders. The perforant-path transfer of cortical information to the hippocampal formation is important for memory acquisition. High pressure may alter information transfer in this connection. We used rat corticohippocampa...

Synaptic transmission in hippocampal field CA1 is largely N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDA(R)) dependent during the early postnatal period. It becomes increasingly mediated by alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-proprionate (AMPA) receptors until an adult ratio of AMPA to NMDA receptors is achieved. It is shown here that increases in the AMPA receptor (AMPA(R))-mediated field potential...

Hippocampal oscillations reflect coordinated neuronal activity on many timescales. Distinct types of GABAergic interneuron participate in the coordination of pyramidal cells over different oscillatory cycle phases. In the CA3 area, which generates sharp waves and gamma oscillations, the contribution of identified GABAergic neurons remains to be defined. We have examined the firing of a family o...

Norepinephrine, acting through -adrenergic receptors, is implicated in mammalian memory. In in vitro and in vivo studies, norepinephrine produces potentiation of the perforant path– dentate gyrus evoked potential; however, the duration and dynamics of norepinephrine-induced potentiation have not been explored over extended time periods. To characterize the long-term effects of norepinephrine on...

The dorsal CA3 region of the hippocampus is unique in its connectivity, sensitivity to neurotoxic lesions, and its ability to encode and retrieve episodic memories. Computational models of the CA3 region predict that blocking mossy-fiber and/or perforant path activity to CA3 would cause impairments in learning and recall of spatial memory, respectively. Because the CA3 region contains micro-opi...

A new feasible and reproducible method to reconstruct local field potentials from amperometric biosensor signals is presented. It is based on the least-square fit of the current response of the biosensor electrode to a voltage step by the use of two time constants. After determination of the electrode impedance, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Inverse FFT are performed to convert the recorded ...

Brain mechanisms of mammalian learning and memory have long been associated with the hippocampus. Although the role of the hippocampus in spatial behavior is well established, there is no general consensus on the function of the hippocampus in nonspatial tasks. Task-related changes in evoked potentials were first reported by Deadwyler and colleagues in the dentate gyrus, with a peak at 100 ms i...

Long-term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory transmission is a likely candidate for the encoding and storage of information in the mammalian brain. There is a general agreement that LTP involves an increase in synaptic strength, but the mechanisms underlying this persistent change are unclear and controversial. Synaptic efficacy may be enhanced because more transmitter glutamate is released or be...

Schizophrenia is considered to be associated with an abnormal functioning of the hippocampal output. The high clinical potency of antipsychotics that act as antagonists at dopamine (DA) receptors indicate a hyperfunction of the dopaminergic system. The subiculum obtains information from area CA1 and the entorhinal cortex and represents the major output region of the hippocampal complex. To clar...

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...