Among glia cells, astrocytes actively regulate the shaping and functions of the “tripartite synapse” [1]. Changes in synapses may influence diverse biological processes including long-term memory or the shift from acute to chronic pain, which can be dysfunctional in neuropsychiatric disorders such as major depressive disorder (MDD) or in neuropathic pain (NP), respectively [2]. Long-term potent...

Glucose is the most important energy substrate for the brain, and its cellular distribution is a subject of great current interest. We have employed fluorescent glucose probes, the 2-deoxy-D-glucose derivates 6- and 2-([N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl) amino]-2-deoxy-D-glucose) (2-NBDG), to measure transport and metabolism of glucose in acute slices of mouse hippocampus and cerebellum. In ...

The temporary interaction of distinct gamma oscillators effects binding, association, and information routing. How independent gamma oscillations are generated and maintained by pyramidal cells and interneurons within a cortical circuit remains unknown. We recorded the spike timing of identified parvalbumin-expressing basket cells in the CA1 hippocampus of anesthetized rats and simultaneously d...

Dichloroacetic acid (DCA) is commonly found in drinking water as a by-product of chlorination disinfection. It is formed from organic material during water chlorination and is considered as a neurotoxicants in rats, dogs, and humans. The objective of the present study is to investigate the histopathological changes in the hippocampus area of the brain after the administration of DCA (125mg/kg b...

Proechimys (Rodentia: Echimyidae) is a neotropical rodent of the Amazon region that has been successfully colonized in the laboratory and used for experimental medicine. Preliminary studies indicated that Proechimys (casiragua) rodents express an atypical resistance to developing a chronic epileptic condition in common models of temporal lobe epilepsy. Moreover, previous investigation of our la...

Synaptic efficacy is modified following a brief train of high frequency stimulation (HFS) to a cell's afferent fibers (long-term potentiation, LTP). Modulation of synaptic efficacy could be achieved through changes in excitability of interneurons. To test this hypothesis, we used the in vitro hippocampal slice to record intracellularly from CA1 basket cell interneurons before and following a pe...

Fast spiking interneurons in the CA1 area of the dorsal hippocampus were recorded from and filled with biocytin in anesthetized rats. The full extent of their dendrites and axonal arborizations as well as their calcium binding protein content were examined. Based on the spatial extent of axon collaterals, local circuit cells (basket and O-LM neurons) and long-range cells (bistratified, trilamin...

GABAB and GABAA receptors were examined by quantitative [3H]GABA autoradiography in postmortem human hippocampus from 6 histopathologically verified cases of dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) and 6 normal controls. Significant decrements in the Bmax for both types of GABA receptors were observed in DAT hippocampus as compared to normal controls. No significant differences in Kd values were r...

DC extracellular potential shifts (deltaVo) associated with spreading depression (SD) reflect massive cell depolarization, but their cellular generators remain obscure. We have recently reported that the glial specific metabolic poison fluorocitrate (FC) delivered by microdialysis in situ caused a rapid impairment of glial function followed some hours later by loss of neuronal electrogenic acti...

In mammalian brain the expression of peripheral benzodiazepine receptors (PBRs) can be markedly induced following different types of neuronal injury. PBRs are believed to be expressed on non-neuronal cells in the brain, yet the specific cell type that expresses these receptors following CNS insult has not been defined. In the present study, we investigated the effects of transient global forebr...