The paroxysmal depolarization shift (PDS) is a hallmark of epileptiform activities at cellular level [1-3]. PDS or bursting is characterized by the firing of rapid series of several action potentials with very short (less than ~5ms interspike interval) on the top of the depolarizing membrane envelope [1-4]. Given that the epileptiform activities are identical whether it is lower invertebrates o...

13 14 In this study, we examined the functional coupling between Na+-activated 15 potassium (KNa) channels and Na+-influx through voltage-dependent Na+ 16 channels in Kenyon cells isolated from the mushroom body of the cricket 17 Gryllus bimaculatus. Single channel activity of KNa channels was recorded 18 with the cell-attached patch configuration. The open probability (Po) of KNa 19 channels i...

GS-458967, 6-(4-(Trifluoromethoxy)phenyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyridine (GS967) is a recently described, novel, sodium channel inhibitor exhibiting potent antiarrhythmic effects in various in vitro and in vivo models. The antiarrhythmic mechanism has been attributed to preferential suppression of late sodium current. However, there has been no reported systematic investigat...

Effects of the protein kinase C activating phorbol ester, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), were studied in whole cell recordings from layer V neurons in slices of mouse somatosensory neocortex. PMA was applied intracellularly (100 nM to 1 microM) to restrict its action to the cell under study. In current-clamp recordings, it enhanced neuronal excitability by inducing a 10- to 20-mV decrea...

31 32 CA1 inhibitory interneurons at the stratum lacunosum-moleculare and radiatum 33 junction (LM/RAD-INs) display subthreshold membrane potential oscillations (MPOs) 34 involving voltage-dependent Na and A-type K currents. LM/RAD-INs also express 35 other voltage-gated K currents, however their properties and role in MPOs remain 36 unclear. Here, we characterized these voltage-gated K current...

Spike timing precision is a fundamental aspect of neuronal information processing in the brain. Here we examined the temporal precision of input-output operation of dentate granule cells (DGCs) in an animal model of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). In TLE, mossy fibers sprout and establish recurrent synapses on DGCs that generate aberrant slow kainate receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic pote...

Voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels play a central role in gastrointestinal physiology because they transmit depolarizing impulses in enteric neurons, thereby enabling the coordination of intestinal motility. However, little is known about the ion channel machinery that specifies firing pattern of enteric neurons. Here, we used in situ patch-clamp recording of myenteric neurons from mice to def...

33 34 The vertebrate spinal cord is equipped with a number of neuronal networks that 35 underlie repetitive patterns of behavior like locomotion. Activity in such networks 36 is mediated by intrinsic cellular properties as well as by synaptic coupling. In this 37 study, we focused on the modulation of the intrinsic activity by 5-HT and the 38 cholinergic agonist muscarine in spinal cord culture...

26 The signaling properties of thalamocortical (TC) 27 neurons depend on the diversity of ion conductance 28 mechanisms that underlie their rich membrane 29 behavior at sub-threshold potentials. Using patch 30 clamp recordings of TC neurons in brain slices from 31 mice and a realistic conductance-based 32 computational model, we characterized seven sub33 threshold ion currents of TC neurons and...