Serotoninergic fibers densely innervate olfactory bulb glomeruli, the first sites of synaptic integration in the olfactory system. Acting through 5HT2A receptors, serotonin (5HT) directly excites external tufted cells (ETCs), key excitatory glomerular neurons, and depolarizes some mitral cells (MCs), the olfactory bulb's main output neurons. We further investigated 5HT action on MCs and determi...

Botulinum (BoNT/A-G) and tetanus toxins (TeNT) are zinc endopeptidases that cleave proteins associated with presynaptic terminals (SNAP-25, syntaxin, or VAMP/synaptobrevin) and block neurotransmitter release. Treatment of hippocampal slice cultures with BoNT/A, BoNT/C, BoNT/E, or TeNT prevented the occurrence of spontaneous or miniature EPSCs (sEPSCs or mEPSCs) as well as the [Ca2+]o-independen...

Formation of local excitatory circuits may contribute to epileptogenesis. We tested the hypothesis that epileptogenesis is associated with increased recurrent excitation in the hippocampal CA1 area of rats with kainate-induced epilepsy. Whole cell recordings were obtained during focal flash photolysis of caged glutamate, which served as a focal excitant to activate local pyramidal cells and to ...

Serotonin (5-HT) is a critical neurotransmitter in the control of autonomic functions. 5-HT(3) receptors participate in vagal afferent feedback to decrease food intake and regulate cardiovascular reflexes; however, the phenotype of the solitary tract nucleus (NTS) neurons involved is not known. A(2)/C(2) catecholamine (CA) neurons in the NTS are directly activated by visceral afferents and are ...

Principal cells of the chick tangential nucleus are vestibular nucleus neurons in the hindbrain. Although detailed information is available on the morphogenesis of principal cells and synaptogenesis of primary vestibular fibers, this is the first study of their early functional development, when vestibular terminals emerge at embryonic days 10 and 13 (E10 and E13). At E10, 60% of principal cell...

The effects of activating dopaminergic D(2/3) and D(4) receptors during activation of the subthalamic projection to the globus pallidus (GP) were explored in rat brain slices using the whole cell patch-clamp technique. Byocitin labeling and both orthodromic and antidromic activation demonstrated the integrity of some subthalamopallidal connections in in vitro parasagittal brain slices. Excitato...

The aim of this study was to investigate the actions of silver nanoparticles (nano-Ag) on glutamatergic synaptic transmission and excitability in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons with whole cell patch technique. The amplitude of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) was inhibited by silver nano-particles (nano-Ag) (10⁻⁵ g/ml and 10⁻⁴ g/ml), but the amplitude and frequency of spon...

Locomotor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) are accompanied by widespread oscillatory neuronal activities in basal ganglia. Here, we show that activation of dopamine D1-class receptors elicits a large rhythmic bursting of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) in midbrain neurons differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) of PD patients with parkin mutations, b...

Central cholinergic overstimulation results in prolonged seizures of status epilepticus in humans and experimental animals. Cellular mechanisms of underlying seizures caused by cholinergic stimulation remain uncertain, but enhanced glutamatergic transmission is a potential mechanism. Paraoxon, an organophosphate cholinesterase inhibitor, enhanced glutamatergic transmission on hippocampal granul...

The normal function of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is essential for regulating neurocognition, but it disrupted in early stages Alzheimer’s disease (AD) before accumulation Aβ and appearance symptoms. Despite this, little known about how functional activity pyramidal neurons changes as progresses during aging. We used electrophysiological techniques (patch-clamping) to assess brain 3xTg...