Document Detail


Field potential analysis of synaptic transmission in spiking neurons in a sparse and irregular neuronal structure in vitro.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  10661839     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Extracellular field potential (FP) recording of dendritic depolarizations evoked by afferent stimulation is widely used as a quantitative measure of excitatory synaptic transmission in brain slices in-vitro for structures with high neuronal density and regularity such as hippocampus, neocortex and cerebellum. On the other hand, FP recordings of somatic depolarizations induced by orthodromic or antidromic stimulation of afferent or efferent nerves have been used in some in-vivo preparations for mapping the central projections of these nerves. In this study, we examined the applicability of somatic FPs as a measure of excitatory synaptic transmission in a sparse and irregular brain structure. Excitatory FPs were induced in nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) in the dorsal medulla by electrical impulse stimulation of primary afferent fibers in the tractus solitarius (TS) in rat brainstem slices in vitro. The evoked FP was rapid and biphasic, and was stimulus-intensity dependent and saturable. The morphology of these somatic FPs resembled the dendritic FPs found in hippocampal and neocortical slices, with an excitatory postsynaptic component that exhibited similar pharmacological and stimulus frequency-dependent properties as found in NTS cells with intracellular or whole-cell recordings. Simultaneous FP and whole-cell recordings revealed that the postsynaptic component of FP was associated with neuronal firing rather than subthreshold membrane depolarizations. We conclude that somatic FP recording provides a simple and reliable measure of excitatory neurotransmission in the TS-NTS pathway and is a useful alternative or adjunct to intracellular or whole-cell recordings especially for studies of long-term synaptic plasticity in spiking neurons. This technique may also be applicable to other brain regions that lack the regular and dense organization of hippocampal and neocortical structures.
Authors:
Z Zhou; C S Poon
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Publication Detail:
Type:  In Vitro; Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of neuroscience methods     Volume:  94     ISSN:  0165-0270     ISO Abbreviation:  J. Neurosci. Methods     Publication Date:  2000 Jan 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2000-02-17     Completed Date:  2000-02-17     Revised Date:  2007-11-14    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7905558     Medline TA:  J Neurosci Methods     Country:  NETHERLANDS    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  193-203     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, USA.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
6-Cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione / pharmacology
Action Potentials / drug effects
Animals
Bicuculline / pharmacology
Brain Stem / physiology
Electric Stimulation
Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / pharmacology
GABA Antagonists / pharmacology
Intracellular Membranes / physiology
Neurons / physiology*
Quinoxalines / pharmacology
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Solitary Nucleus / physiology
Synaptic Transmission / physiology*
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
HL52925/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS; HL60064/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; 0/GABA Antagonists; 0/Quinoxalines; 115066-14-3/6-Cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione; 118876-58-7/2,3-dioxo-6-nitro-7-sulfamoylbenzo(f)quinoxaline; 485-49-4/Bicuculline

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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