A key process for recognition memory is the formation of associations between an object and the place in which it was encountered, a process that has been shown to require the perirhinal (PRH) and medial prefrontal (mPFC) cortices. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, the importance of glutamatergic neurotransmission, within the PRH and mPFC, for object-in-place associative recognition memo...

Naturally occurring glutamate analogs, such as kainate and domoate, which cause excitotoxic shellfish poisoning, induce nondesensitizing responses at neuronal alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors. In addition to acting on AMPA receptors, kainate and domoate also activate high-affinity kainate-type glutamate receptors. The receptor type that mediates their ne...

Early in development, cortical networks generate particular patterns of activity that participate in cortical development. The dominant pattern of electrical activity in the neonatal rat neocortex in vivo is a spatially confined spindle-burst. Here, we studied network mechanisms of generation of spindle-bursts in the barrel cortex of neonatal rats using a superfused cortex preparation in vivo. ...

Excitotoxicity, induced by the aberrant rise in cytosolic Ca(2+) level, is a major neuropathological process in numerous neurodegenerative disorders. It is triggered when extracellular glutamate (Glu) concentration reaches neuropathological levels resulting in dysregulation and hyper-activation of ionotropic glutamate receptor subtype (iGluRs). Even though all three members of the iGluRs, namel...

The rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) is a critical component of the sympathetic nervous system regulating homeostatic functions including arterial blood pressure. Using the transsynaptic retrograde viral tracer PRV-152, we identified kidney-related neurons in the RVLM. We found that PRV-152-labeled RVLM neurons displayed an unusually large persistent, tonic current to both glutamate, via N-...

the present study aims to investigate the effect of noscapine (0.5-2.5 µm), an alkaloid from the opium poppy, on primary murine fetal cortical neurons exposed to oxygen–glucose deprivation (ogd), an in vitro model of ischemia. cells were transferred to glucose-free dmem (dulbecco's modified eagle medium) and were exposed to hypoxia in a small anaerobic chamber. cell viability and nitric ox...

Earlier there was found activity of glutamatergic ionotropic α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPAR) and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) disturbed after prolonged cryopreservation brain slices at temperature -10 оС. To eliminate cryodamage AMPAR NMDAR, the were encapsulated in special freezing solution (SFS). SFS consisted agar various concentrations (33, 44 50 %) ar...

The methylglutamate analog (2S,4R)-4-methylglutamate (SYM 2081) has been shown to potently displace high affinity [3H]kainate binding to cortical tissue and to recombinant kainate receptors, and to evoke rapidly desensitizing responses in electrophysiological recordings. We have used two electrode voltage clamp recordings to compare the potency and efficacy of SYM 2081 with other alpha-amino-3-...

Glutamate receptor ion channels are colocalized in postsynaptic densities with Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM-kinase II), which can phosphorylate and strongly enhance non-N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptor current. In this study, CaM-kinase II enhanced kainate currents of expressed glutamate receptor 6 in 293 cells and of wild-type glutamate receptor 1, but not the...

PURPOSE Alpha1 (α1)-adrenoceptor antagonists are widely used to treat lower urinary tract symptoms. These drugs not only act on peripheral tissues, but also cross the blood-brain barrier and affect the central nervous system. Therefore, α1-adrenoceptor antagonists may enhance brain functions. In the present study, we investigated the effects of tamsulosin, an α1-adrenoceptor antagonist, on shor...