Leech heart interneurons were voltage-clamped with realistic waveforms to investigate the currents underlying the oscillation in the cells. By estimating the leak current parameters in regions in which there was little contamination by voltage-gated currents, it was possible to measure the Ca2+ current, the persistent Na+ current, Ip, and the hyperpolarization-activated inward current, Ih. The ...

We investigated whether primary afferent neurons innervating different regions of the lower urinary tract have different histochemical and electrophysiological properties. Neurons in rat L6-S1 DRG were identified by axonal transport of a fluorescent dye. Neurofilament-negative C-fiber cells comprise approximately 70% of bladder and proximal urethral afferent neurons that send axons through the ...

Electrophysiological dysfunction of Purkinje cells causes cerebellar ataxia. Recent studies indicated that 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) can prevent the attacks in patients with episodic ataxia type 2. However, the cellular mechanism(s) by which 4-AP might be beneficial for the improvement of motor function remain unclear. Here, electrophysiological and behavioural consequences of in vivo co-treatment...

In the brain stem trigeminal nuclei of rodents there is a patterned representation of whiskers and sinus hairs. The subnucleus interpolaris (SPI) contains the largest and the most conspicuous whisker patterns (barrelettes). Although neural activity plays a role in pattern formation, little is known about the electrophysiological properties of developing barrelette neurons. Here we examined the ...

Spikes of single cortical neurons can exert powerful effects even though most cortical synapses are too weak to fire postsynaptic neurons. A recent study combining single-cell stimulation with population imaging has visualized in vivo postsynaptic firing in genetically identified target cells. The results confirm predictions from in vitro work and might help to understand how the brain reads si...

rho-kinase is an effector molecule of rhoa, a monomeric gtp-binding protein, and causes ca2+ sensitization through inactivation of myosin phosphatase. the major physiological functions of rho/rho-kinase cascade include contraction, proliferation and migration in cells.there are some excellent reviews about rho/rho-kinase signal pathway, most of which focus on the specific proteins of the pathwa...

Purified reovirus type 3 (strain Dearing) was treated with monoclonal anti-?l antibody conjugated to ferritin and examined in the electron microscope. Virion associated ferritin molecules corresponding to locations of the ?l protein were observed. Electron microsocpy of thin sections of these preparations revealed that ferritin conjugates were localized at the vertices of the viral icosahe...

High-frequency bursts of action potentials (APs) are a distinctive form of signaling in various types of mammalian central neurons. In CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons in vivo, such complex spike bursts (CSs) are detected during various behaviors and are considered to be particularly important for learning- and memory-related synaptic plasticity. Here, we combined whole-cell recordings and two...