objective(s): opioids and cannabinoids are two important compounds that have been shown to influence the activity of magnocellular neurons (mcns) of supraoptic nucleus (son). the interaction between opioidergic and cannabinoidergic systems in various structures of the brain and spinal cord is now well established, but not in the mcns of son. materials and methods: in this study, whole cell patc...

We have shown that a number of anticonvulsant drugs can reduce glutamate release at synapses in the rat entorhinal cortex (EC) in vitro. We have also shown that presynaptic NMDA receptors (NMDAr) tonically facilitate glutamate release at these synapses. In the present study we determined whether, phenytoin, gabapentin and felbamate may reduce glutamate release by blocking the presynaptic NMDAr....

Subthalamic nucleus (STN) is a target of choice for the neurosurgical treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). The therapeutic effect of STN lesion in PD is classically ascribed to the rescue of physiological activity in the output structures of the basal ganglia, and little is known about the possible involvement of the striatum. In the present study, therefore, we electrophysiologically recorde...

Tramadol is thought to modulate synaptic transmissions in the spinal dorsal horn mainly by activating µ-opioid receptors and by inhibiting the reuptake of monoamines in the CNS. However, the precise mode of modulation remains unclear. We used an in vivo patch clamp technique in urethane-anesthetized rats to determine the antinociceptive mechanism of tramadol. In vivo whole-cell recordings of sp...

Cholinergic projections are relatively sparse in the cerebellum compared with other parts of the brain. However, some mossy fibers in the vestibulo-cerebellum are known to be cholinergic. To clarify the functional roles of cholinergic mossy fibers in the vestibulo-cerebellum, we investigated the effects of acetylcholine (ACh) on the membrane electrical properties of both granule cells and Purki...

objective: low-frequency stimulation (lfs) exerts suppressive effects in kindled animals. it is believed that overstimulated glutamatergic and decreased gabaergic transmission have long been associated with seizure activity. in this study, we investigated the effect of electrical lfs on different parameters of spontaneous excitatory and inhibitory post-synaptic currents (sepscs and sipscs) in h...

Group I mGluRs (mGluR1 and 5) pre- and/or postsynaptically regulate synaptic transmission at glutamatergic synapses. By recording spontaneous EPSCs (sEPSCs) in the spinal trigeminal subnucleus oralis (Vo), we here investigated the regulation of glutamatergic transmission through the activation of group I mGluRs. Bath-applied DHPG (10 microM/5 min), activating the group I mGluRs, increased sEPSC...

The effects of the intraperitoneal administration of the 5-HT₇ receptor antagonist SB 269970 were studied in the rat frontal cortex. In ex vivo slices prepared from rats receiving 14 daily doses of the drug (1.25 mg/kg) the mean frequency and the mean amplitude of glutamate-mediated, spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) recorded from layer II/III pyramidal neurons, were decreas...

We have shown previously that when postsynaptic NMDA receptors are blocked, the frequency, but not amplitude, of spontaneous EPSCs (sEPSCs) at synapses in the entorhinal cortex is reduced by NMDA receptor antagonists, demonstrating that glutamate release is tonically facilitated by presynaptic NMDA autoreceptors. In the present study, we recorded sEPSCs using whole-cell voltage clamp in neurons...