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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Electrophysiological Analysis of Effects of Exogenous and Endogenous Adenosine in Hippocampal Slices

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Little doubt remains that adenosine serves a modulatory role in the nervous system (Sattin and Rail, 1970; Shimizu and Daly, 1970; Fredholm and Hedqvist, 1980; Phillis and Wu, 1981; Stone, 1981; Daly et al., 1984; Dunwiddie, 1985). While electrophysiologically active concentrations of adenosine have been found in the extracellular fluid, the source and control of the levels of this active adenosine are unclear. There are indications that adenosine is released (or coreleased) from synaptic endings, fulfilling a typical transmitter role (Burnstock, 1975, 1981; Nagy et al., 1986). A synaptic hyperpolarization in autonomic neurons has been identified as an adenosine-mediated potential (Akasu et al., 1984). Regardless of the magnitude of adenosine’s role in the CNS as a classical transmitter, the ubiquitous but uneven occurrence of adenosine in the CNS and its marked inhibitory actions on nervous activity (Kostopoulos and Phillis, 1977) implicate it as a major neuromodulator, which could provide the negative feedback link between the metabolic state and the electrophysiological activity of nerve cells (Pull and Mcllwain, 1973).