Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)-related peptides serve as hormones and neuromodulators of the stress response and play a role in affective disorders. These peptides are known to alter complex behaviors and neuronal properties, but their receptor-mediated effects at CNS synapses are not well described. Here we show that excitatory glutamatergic transmission is modulated by two endogenous CR...

background: ketamine is a commonly used intravenous anesthetic which produces dissociation anesthesia, analgesia, and amnesia. the mechanism of ketamine-induced synaptic inhibition in high-level cortical areas is still unknown. we aimed to elucidate the effects of different concentrations of ketamine on the glutamatergic synaptic transmission of the neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex b...

Topiramate (TPM) is an antiepileptic drug able to play a role in both neurological and psychiatric disorders. TPM facilitates gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transmission and inhibits glutamatergic transmission (i.e. AMPA/kainate receptors). Several studies reported that the modulation of GABAergic and glutamatergic synaptic transmission may reduce cocaine reinforcement. Therefore, TPM could be ...

The developing CA3 hippocampus is comprised by highly connected hub neurons that are particularly effective in achieving network synchronization. Functional hub neurons were shown to be exclusively GABAergic, suggesting that the contribution of glutamatergic neurons to physiological synchronization processes at early postnatal stages is minimal. However, without fast GABAergic transmission, a d...

Background: Ketamine is a commonly used intravenous anesthetic which produces dissociation anesthesia, analgesia, and amnesia. The mechanism of ketamine-induced synaptic inhibition in high-level cortical areas is still unknown. We aimed to elucidate the effects of different concentrations of ketamine on the glutamatergic synaptic transmission of the neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex b...

It is widely accepted that cannabinoids regulate GABA release by activation of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1). Results obtained from a variety of brain regions consistently indicate that cannabinoid agonists can also reduce glutamatergic synaptic transmission. However, there are still conflicting data concerning the role of CB1 in cannabinoid-induced inhibition of glutamatergic transmission ...

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway in neurons integrates a variety of extracellular signals to produce appropriate translational responses. mTOR signaling is hyperactive in neurological syndromes in both humans and mouse models that are characterized by epilepsy, autism, and cognitive disturbances. In addition, rapamycin, a clinically important immunosuppressant, is a sp...

Adenosine is an inhibitory neuromodulator that exerts antiepileptic effects in the brain and the entorhinal cortex (EC) is an essential structure involved in temporal lobe epilepsy. Whereas microinjection of adenosine into the EC has been shown to exert powerful antiepileptic effects, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms in the EC have not been determined yet. We tested the hypothes...