Attentional processing is a crucial early stage in cognition and is subject to "top-down" regulation by prefrontal cortex (PFC). Top-down regulation involves modification of input processing in cortical and subcortical areas, including the posterior parietal cortex (PPC). Cortical cholinergic inputs, originating from the basal forebrain cholinergic system, have been demonstrated to mediate impo...

Although the epileptogenic properties of estrogens have been widely demonstrated in several models and species, the mechanism(s) by which estrogens can acutely change seizure parameters including after discharge and seizure durationremains to be determined. In the present study, we examined the role of NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate), non-NMDA andestrogen receptors in estradiol benzoate(EB) effects...

12 13 14 15 Running head: CNQX/DNQX depolarize TRN neurons 16 17 18 19 Author for Correspondence: 20 Charles L. Cox, Ph.D. 21 Departments of Pharmacology and Physiology 22 University of Illinois 23 2357 Beckman Institute 24 405 North Mathews Avenue 25 Urbana, IL 61801 26 Email: [email protected] 27 Phone: (217) 265-0573 28 Fax: (217) 244-5180 29 30 31 Present address: Department of Anatomy and ...

Hormonal, Experiential, and Neural Regulation of Ventromedial Hypothalamic Glutamate in the Female Rat Michaela Georgescu, PhD Concordia University, 2010 Previous experiments have shown that enhanced glutamate neurotransmission in the ventromedial hypothalamus by administration of glutamate or its selective receptor agonists kainate, N-methyl-D-aspartic acid or a-amino-3-hydroxyl-5methyl-4-isox...

Most of the research on ventral striatal functions has been focused on their role in modulating reward and motivation. More recently, a possible role of this structure in cognitive functions has been suggested. However, very little information is available on the involvement of the nucleus accumbens in the different stages of the consolidation process. In this study, the effect of focal injecti...

A rise in arterial Pco(2) stimulates breathing and sympathetic activity to the heart and blood vessels. In the present study, we investigated the involvement of the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) and glutamatergic mechanisms in the Bötzinger/C1 region (Bötz/C1) in these responses. Splanchnic sympathetic nerve discharge (sSND) and phrenic nerve discharge (PND) were recorded in urethane-anesthetize...

Glutamate receptors belonging to the AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid) subclass were partially purified 30- to 60-fold from forebrain of adult rats and incorporated into planar bimolecular lipid membranes. The channel conductance associated with the reconstituted receptors was activated by kainate and AMPA in a manner that suggests cooperative binding of two to thr...

This study reports on the effects of activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors on area postrema neuron cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i). In 140 of 242 area postrema neurons isolated from postnatal rats, application of 100 μMl-glutamate (l-Glu) resulted in a significant increase in [Ca2+]i. The remaining neurons were unaffected. The effects ofl-Glu on area postrema [Ca2+]iwere dose d...

PURPOSE To determine whether low concentrations of glutamate induce cell death in purified rat retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). METHODS Rat retinal ganglion cells were purified from dissociated retinal cells by a modified two-step panning method and were cultured in serum-free medium containing neurotrophic factors and forskolin. Survival of RGCs after exposure to glutamate, with or without glu...