Search results for "action potential"
showing 10 items of 233 documents
Anatomical evidence for a ponto-septal pathway via the nucleus incertus in the rat.
2008
Abstract Hippocampal theta activity is involved in sensory–motor integration and constitutes a functional basis for mnemonic functions. The medial septum–diagonal band of Broca (MS/DBv) is a key structure as pacemaker of the oscillation. In addition, some brainstem reticular structures are crucial for the activation of MS/DBv. Specifically, the nucleus reticularis pontis oralis (RPO) is considered the most effective pontine site for eliciting theta rhythm. Nevertheless, its connection with the MS/DBv is not direct. A previous study by our group pointed out that the nucleus incertus (NI) could be considered as a relay in this multisynaptic pathway. From this study, the stimulation of RPO inc…
Intensity of GABA-evoked responses is modified by nitric oxide-active compounds in the subthalamic nucleus of the rat: a microiontophoretic study.
2009
We have previously described modulatory effects of nitric oxide (NO)-active drugs on subthalamic nucleus (STN) neurons. In this study, the effects of microiontophoretically applied NO-active compounds on GABA-evoked responses were investigated in subthalamic neurons extracellularly recorded from anesthetized rats: 45 of 62 cells were excited by S-nitroso-glutathione (SNOG), an NO donor, whereas 28 of 43 neurons were inhibited by N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a NOS inhibitor. Nearly all neurons responding to SNOG and/or L-NAME showed significant inhibitory responses to the administration of iontophoretic GABA. In these cells, the changes induced by NO-active drugs in the magnitud…
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…
Pregnenolone sulphate enhances spatial orientation and object discrimination in adult male rats: Evidence from a behavioural and electrophysiological…
2013
Abstract Neurosteroids can alter neuronal excitability interacting with specific neurotransmitter receptors, thus affecting several functions such as cognition and emotionality. In this study we investigated, in adult male rats, the effects of the acute administration of pregnenolone-sulfate (PREGS) (10 mg/kg, s.c.) on cognitive processes using the Can test, a non aversive spatial/visual task which allows the assessment of both spatial orientation–acquisition and object discrimination in a simple and in a complex version of the visual task. Electrophysiological recordings were also performed in vivo , after acute PREGS systemic administration in order to investigate on the neuronal activati…
Sensory-evoked and spontaneous gamma and spindle bursts in neonatal rat motor cortex.
2014
Self-generated neuronal activity originating from subcortical regions drives early spontaneous motor activity, which is a hallmark of the developing sensorimotor system. However, the neural activity patterns and role of primary motor cortex (M1) in these early movements are still unknown. Combining voltage-sensitive dye imaging (VSDI) with simultaneous extracellular multielectrode recordings in postnatal day 3 (P3)-P5 rat primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and M1 in vivo, we observed that tactile forepaw stimulation induced spindle bursts in S1 and gamma and spindle bursts in M1. Approximately 40% of the spontaneous gamma and spindle bursts in M1 were driven by early motor activity, whereas …
Critical role of nitric oxide on nicotine-induced hyperactivation of dopaminergic nigrostriatal system: electrophysiological and neurochemical eviden…
2010
Nicotine, the main psychoactive ingredient in tobacco, stimulates dopamine (DA) function, increasing DA neuronal activity and DA release. DA is involved in both motor control and in the rewarding and reinforcing effects of nicotine; however, the complete understanding of its molecular mechanisms is yet to be attained. Substantial evidence indicates that the reinforcing properties of drugs of abuse, including nicotine, can be affected by the nitric oxide (NO) system, which may act by modulating central dopaminergic function. In this study, using single cell recordings in vivo coupled with microiontophoresis and microdialysis in freely moving animals, the role of NO signaling on the hyperacti…
Modulatory role of acetylcholine in the rat pineal gland
1998
Abstract The function of acetylcholine (ACh) in the mammalian pineal gland is unknown. To test the hypothesis that ACh exerts a modulatory role in this organ, in the present study electrophysiogical multiunit recordings were carried out in ex-vivo rat pineal glands superfused with different drugs. It was found that ACh (10 −7 M) as well as the cholinergic agonists oxotremorine (10 −7 M) and nicotine (10 −6 M) increased the discharge rates of most of the spontaneously active units and led to burst activity in previously regularly firing cells. It is concluded that ACh may play a modulatory role in the pineal by influencing the firing of a special population of pineal cells with perhaps recep…
Demonstration of action-potential-producing cells in the rat pineal gland in vitro and their regulation by norepinephrine and nitric oxide
1998
There is evidence that sympathetically innervated mammalian pineal glands contain cells that exhibit action potentials. It is unknown whether ex vivo pineal glands deprived of their nervous input are still capable of firing. In the present study, multiple-unit recordings from rat pineals revealed spontaneously active cell clusters with a mean firing frequency of 1.5 +/- 0.3 Hz which could be abolished by tedrodotoxin. Regularly firing clusters showed no inherent periodicity in the minute range, whereas rhythmical clusters with periodically repeated bursts had period lengths of 12.6 min (day) and 9.5 min (night). Superfusion of norepinephrine reduced the firing frequency of both cluster type…
Inflammatory Pain Promotes Increased Opioid Self-Administration: Role of Dysregulated Ventral Tegmental Area μ Opioid Receptors
2015
Pain management in opioid abusers engenders ethical and practical difficulties for clinicians, often resulting in pain mismanagement. Although chronic opioid administration may alter pain states, the presence of pain itself may alter the propensity to self-administer opioids, and previous history of drug abuse comorbid with chronic pain promotes higher rates of opioid misuse. Here, we tested the hypothesis that inflammatory pain leads to increased heroin self-administration resulting from altered mu opioid receptor (MOR) regulation of mesolimbic dopamine (DA) transmission. To this end, the complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) model of inflammation was used to assess the neurochemical and functi…