Search results for "Neural Inhibition"
showing 10 items of 76 documents
Laminar and Columnar Structure of Sensory-Evoked Multineuronal Spike Sequences in Adult Rat Barrel Cortex In Vivo
2014
One of the most relevant questions regarding the function of the nervous system is how sensory information is represented in populations of cortical neurons. Despite its importance, the manner in which sensory-evoked activity propagates across neocortical layers and columns has yet not been fully characterized. In this study, we took advantage of the distinct organization of the rodent barrel cortex and recorded with multielectrode arrays simultaneously from up to 74 neurons localized in several functionally identified layers and columns of anesthetized adult Wistar rats in vivo. The flow of activity within neuronal populations was characterized by temporally precise spike sequences, which …
Inhibition of different GABA transporter systems is required to attenuate epileptiform activity in the CA3 region of the immature rat hippocampus
2014
GABA transporters (GATs) are an essential element of the GABAergic system, which regulate excitability in the central nervous system and are thus used as targets for anticonvulsive therapy. However, in the immature nervous system the functions of the GABAergic system and the expression profile of GATs are distinct from the adult situation, obscuring to predict how different GAT isoforms influence epileptiform activity. Therefore we analyzed the effects of subtype specific GAT inhibitors on repetitive epileptiform discharges using field potential and whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in the CA3 region of hippocampal slices of immature (postnatal days 4-7) rats. These experiments revealed tha…
The Polysialylated Form of the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (PSA-NCAM) Is Expressed in a Subpopulation of Mature Cortical Interneurons Characterized…
2010
Principal neurons in the adult cerebral cortex undergo synaptic, dendritic, and spine remodeling in response to different stimuli, and several reports have demonstrated that the polysialylated form of the neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) participates in these plastic processes. However, there is only limited information on the expression of this molecule on interneurons and on its role in the structural plasticity of these cells. We have found that PSA-NCAM is expressed in mature interneurons widely distributed in all the extension of the cerebral cortex and have excluded the expression of this molecule in most principal cells. Although PSA-NCAM expression is generally considered a …
Nitric oxide inhibits electrically active units in the rat pineal gland.
1997
Extracellular multiple unit recordings were performed in isolated rat pineal glands to determine a possible effect of nitric oxide (NO) on the spontaneous electrical activity of pinealocytes. Spontaneously active cells forming clusters of 3-5 cells fell into two categories: more or less regularly firing clusters (REG, 64%) and irregularly discharging clusters with periodically repeated bursts (RHY, 36%). The NO-donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) reduced the discharge rate of the great majority of REG clusters and of all the RHY clusters examined. Moreover, the burst activity of RHY clusters was abolished. These results could be completely reproduced by using another NO-donor, S-nitroso-N-acet…
Effects of acute and chronic maprotiline administration on inhibitory avoidance in male mice
2000
The effects of acute and chronic administration of maprotiline (5, 10 or 20 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) were assessed on inhibitory avoidance in male mice. Acute administration of maprotiline before training did not effect training phase latencies, but impaired performance (i.e. produced shorter latencies) in the test at doses of 5 and 20 mg/kg. When given after training, the drug did not modify test latencies at any of the doses used. Chronic administration for 21 days (interrupted 24 h before training) also shortened latencies in the test but not in training. An experiment on the acute effects of maprotiline on analgesia (determination of flinch and jump thresholds for increasing electric f…
Alterations in the spontaneous activity of cells in the guinea pig pineal gland and visual system produced by pineal indoles
1982
The indoles serotonin (SER), melatonin (MEL), 5-methoxytryptophol (5-MTL) and 5-hydroxytryptophol (5-HTL) were administered during daytime microelectrophoretically to 240 cells in the pineal gland of the guniea-pig. The action of SER and 5-HTL was predominantly depressant on the electrical activity, MEL and 5-MTL caused an excitation in most of the units. Although MEL and 5-MTL caused fairly similar reactions on average, they appear to act on different cells. The effects of microelectrophoretically applied MEL and 5-MTL on the spontaneous or evoked activity in the visual system (retinal ganglion cells, optic tract, lateral lateral geniculate body, superior colliculus) of the guinea-pig were…
Nitric oxide- and cGMP-active compounds affect the discharge of substantia nigra pars reticulata neurons: in vivo evidences in the rat
2009
The nitric oxide (NO)-active drugs influence on the bioelectric activity of neurons of the pars reticulata of the substantia nigra was studied in urethane-anesthetized rats. A first group of animals was treated with 7-nitro-indazole (7-NI), a preferential inhibitor of neuronal NO synthase. In a second group of rats, electrophysiological recordings were coupled with microiontophoretic administration of Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, a NO synthase inhibitor), 3-morpholino-sydnonimin-hydrocloride (SIN-1, a NO donor) and 8-Br-cGMP (a cell-permeable analogue of cGMP, the main second-messenger of NO neurotransmission). 7-NI and L-NAME caused a statistically significant decrease in …
Ipsilateral corticomotor responses are confined to the homologous muscle following cross-education of muscular strength
2017
Cross-education of strength occurs when strength-training 1 limb increases the strength of the untrained limb and is restricted to the untrained homologous muscle. Cortical circuits located ipsilateral to the trained limb might be involved. We used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to determine the corticomotor responses from the untrained homologous (biceps brachii) and nonhomologous (flexor carpi radialis) muscle following strength-training of the right elbow flexors. Motor evoked potentials were recorded from the untrained left biceps brachii and flexor carpi radialis during a submaximal contraction from 20 individuals (10 women, 10 men; aged 18–35 years; training group, n = 10; c…
Electrical responses of pineal cells to melatonin and putative transmitters
1981
The effects of microelectrophoretically applied melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxy-tryptamine), noradrenaline (NOR) or acetylcholine (ACH) on the electrical activity of pineal cells during both the day- and night-time were studied in urethane anesthetised guinea-pigs. A total of 288 cells were tested with melatonin, and in addition with either NOR (120 cells) or ACH (138 cells). Of the 206 cells responding to melatonin application, 139 were excited and 67 inhibited. A total of 85 cells responded to the application of NOR, 45 being excited and 40 inhibited. Responses to ACH application were observed in 75 pineal cells, 49 units being inhibited and 26 excited. It was possible to observe excitation…
Motor intracortical inhibition in PD: L-DOPA modulation of high-frequency rTMS effects
2007
Dopaminergic drugs and deep brain stimulation restore cortical inhibition in Parkinson disease (PD) patients. High-frequency rTMS was also found to increase cortical inhibition in PD but its therapeutic effect is still controversial. Here we hypothesize that, if dopaminergic drugs reverse to normal cortical excitability in M1, the effect of high-frequency (hf)-rTMS in PD patients could depend on whether they are in a medicated or unmedicated state. The present study aims to explore the lasting effects of sub-threshold hf rTMS trains over M1 on cortical inhibition in patients with "on" and without "off" L-DOPA treatment. Fourteen PD patients were examined twice while "on" and "off" medicatio…