Electrotonic coupling between pyramidal cells: a direct demonstration in rat hippocampal slices

Intracellular recordings from pairs of neurons in slices of rat hippocampus directly demonstrated electronic coupling between CA3 pyramidal cells. When two neurons were impaled simultaneously (as verified by subsequent double staining with horseradish peroxidase), current pulses injected into one cell caused voltage changes in other cells. These interactions were bidirectional. Fast prepotentials, historically thought to represent spike activity in dendrites, resulted from action potentials in other electronically coupled pyramidal cells. These data directly demonstrate electrotonic coupling between neurons in the mammalian brain and indicate that some fast prepotentials are coupling potentials. Coupling between pyramidal cells could mediate synchronization of normal rhythmic activity and of burst discharges during seizures.     

Persistent increase in brain serotonin turnover after chronic administration of LSD in the rat

Lysergic acid diethylamide at doses of 20 micrograms per kilogram per day was administered orally to rats for I month. Eighteen hours after the final dose a 25 to 30 percent increase in the synthesis and turnover of serotonin was noted, as well as a moderate but significant increase in the concentration of tryptophan (18 percent) and serotonin (13 percent) in the brain.     

Lactate-supported synaptic function in the rat hippocampal slice preparation

The present study was undertaken to examine the possibility that cerebral energy metabolism can be fueled by lactate. As a sole energy substrate, lactate supported normal synaptic function in rat hippocampal slices for hours without any sign of deterioration. Slices that were synaptically silent as a result of glucose depletion could be reactivated with lactate to show normal synaptic function. When slices were exposed to the glycolytic inhibitor iodoacetic acid, lactate-supported synaptic function was unaffected, whereas that supported by glucose was completely abolished. This indicated that lactate was metabolized directly via pyruvate to enter the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Thus, under conditions that lead to lactate accumulation (cerebral ischemia) this "end product" may be a useful alternative as a substrate for energy metabolism.     

Norepinephrine turnover and metabolism in rat brain after long-term administration of imipramine

The rate of disappearance of intracisternally administered tritiated norepinephrine from rat brain is decreased after a single dose of the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine. During long-term administration of imipramine, however, the rate of disappearance of tritiated norepinephrine from brain gradually increases, and there is a concurrent decrease in the content of endogenous norepinephrine in brain. These findings may help to explain why antidepressant effects are observed clinically only after long-termn treatment with imipramine.     

Behavioral measurement of neural poststimulation excitability cycle: pain cells in the brain of the rat

A new technique in which elicited behavior of the freely moving rat is used to measure the poststimulation excitability cycle of the central neurons mediating that behavior has been adapted from accepted methods of neurophysiology. A continuous train of pairs of brief pulses was delivered to pain systems in the midbrain. Rate of lever pressing to achieve 3-second rests from this stimulation was measured as a function of the interval separating the pulses within pairs. Evidence for latent addition, absolute refractory period, temporal summation, and adaptation was demonstrated. Obtained relationships suggested that three sets of fibers may carry the aversive signal and that synaptic integration of pain in the brain may be related to Stevens' power law functions.     

Autoradiographic localization of radioactivity in rat brain after injection of tritiated sex hormones

Radioactivity was found in cell bodies of neurons and glial cells throughout brains of male and female rats that had been injected with either testosterone-H(3) or estradiol-H(3). Uptake by limbic and hypothalamic structures was higher and longer lasting than that in nonlimbic structures. In all brains, the preoptic area, prepiriform cortex, olfactory tubercle, and septum had particularly high, long-lasting uptake of both hormones.     

Decreased hippocampal inhibition and a selective loss of interneurons in experimental epilepsy

The occurrence of seizure activity in human temporal lobe epilepsy or status epilepticus is often associated with a characteristic pattern of cell loss in the hippocampus. An experimental model that replicates this pattern of damage in normal animals by electrical stimulation of the afferent pathway to the hippocampus was developed to study changes in structure and function that occur as a result of repetitive seizures. Hippocampal granule cell seizure activity caused a persistent loss of recurrent inhibition and irreversibly damaged adjacent interneurons. Immunocytochemical staining revealed unexpectedly that gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-containing neurons, thought to mediate inhibition in this region and predicted to be damaged by seizures, had survived. In contrast, there was a nearly complete loss of adjacent somatostatin-containing interneurons and mossy cells that may normally activate inhibitory neurons. These results suggest that the seizure-induced loss of a basket cell-activating system, rather than a loss of inhibitory basket cells themselves, may cause disinhibition and thereby play a role in the pathophysiology and pathology of the epileptic state.     

Neuropeptide Y distribution in the rat brain

A massive neuronal system was detected by immunocytochemistry and radioimmunoassay with antibodies to neuropeptide Y, the recently isolated peptide of the pancreatic polypeptide family. Immunoreactive cell bodies and fibers were most prevalent in cortical, limbic, and hypothalamic regions. Neuropeptide Y was extracted in concentrations higher than those of any other peptide hitherto discovered in the mammalian brain. Column chromatography of brain extracts and double immunostaining experiments indicate that neuropeptide Y is the endogenous brain peptide responsible for immunostaining of pancreatic polypeptide-like immunoreactivity in the mammalian brain.     

Loss of hippocampal theta rhythm results in spatial memory deficit in the rat

Rats learned, using distal room cues, to run to a goal on an elevated, circular track starting from any position on the track. The goal was one of eight equidistant, recessed cups set around the track, the goal cup being distinguished from the others solely by its position in the room. After learning, electrolytic lesions were made in the medial septal nucleus eliminating hippocampal theta rhythm in some animals but not in others. Rats without theta rhythm were no longer able to perform the spatial task, whereas rats with undisturbed theta rhythm retrained normal performance. Although rats without theta rhythm could not find their way directly to the goal, they recognized its location when they came upon it by chance. This type of spatial deficit appears similar to that shown by hippocampally lesioned patient H.M. Subsequent tests demonstrated that rats deprived of theta rhythm before training could nevertheless learn the task.     

Selective loss of a family of gene transcripts in a hereditary murine cataract

The eye lens of the Fraser mouse contains a dominantly inherited cataract with reduced amounts of seven distinct but homologous gamma crystallins encoded by a family of gamma-crystallin genes. The results of experiments with cultured lenses, cell-free RNA translation, and Northern blot hybridization indicated a specific loss of the family of gamma-crystallin messenger RNA's in the Fraser mouse lens. Southern blot hybridization of genomic DNA's from normal and Fraser mice showed no differences in gamma-crystallin coding sequences.     

N-甲基-D-天门冬氨酸对鼠小脑颗粒细胞存活的影响

目的：研究N-甲基-D-天门冬氯酸(N-methyl-D-aspartate，NMDA)对鼠小脑颗粒细胞(CGC)存活的影响。方法：光镜观察NMDA和酒精对细胞所产生的作用。结果：NMDA在无酒精条件下促进细胞生存，并抑制酒精对细胞所产生的神经毒性作用而减少细胞死亡。结论：NMDA对小脑颗粒细胞具有神经营养和神经保护作用。     

帕金森病模型大鼠脑内CDNF表达变化

为了探讨帕金森病(PD)发病过程中大脑多巴胺能神经营养因子(CDNF)表达的变化,以大鼠为模型,研究了帕金森病CDNF及相关基因的表达变化,从而为基因治疗帕金森病提供理论依据。实验采用单侧黑质内单点注射6-羟多巴胺的方法制备帕金森病大鼠模型;运用免疫组织化学、Western blot及Q-PCR方法检测CDNF和多巴胺合成限速酶—酪氨酸羟化酶(TH)在模型大鼠黑质中表达的变化。研究结果发现,PD模型大鼠脑黑质区CDNF和TH阳性细胞数明显减少;进一步研究表明,与正常大鼠相比,模型大鼠CDNF m RNA表达水平虽未见显著改变(P0.05),但CDNF及TH蛋白表达极显著降低(P0.01)。提示帕金森病的发病可能与黑质中CDNF和TH表达量降低,进而抑制多巴胺合成有关。     

Effects of phenylalanine diet on brain serotonin in the rat

Hooded rats fed diets rich in phenylalanine showed poorer performance on the Hebb-Williams maze than controls, as well as decreased brain serotonin levels. There did not appear to be a causal relationship between these findings, and the findings do not appear to be attributable either to a generalized behavioral defect or to inadequate dietary intake.     

Effects of EGTA on the calcium-activated afterhyperpolarization in hippocampal CA3 pyramidal cells

Intracellular recordings in the hippocampal slice preparation were made with electrodes filled with 0.2 molar potassium EGTA. The purpose was to investigate the role of calcium in mediating afterhyperpolarizations following bursts evoked by intracellular current pulses, arising spontaneously, or induced by the epileptogenic agent pencillin. In the first two cases the afterhyperpolarization was blocked and the associated conductance increase was reduced, suggesting that EGTA was blocking the calcium-activated potassium conductance during the hyperpolarization. In the third case the afterhyperpolarization and associated conductance increase persisted, implicating an alternative mechanism for the hyperpolarization. ?2Ns 04053     

Choline content of rat brain

The free choline concentration in the rat brain was found to be 26.3 nanomoles per gram of brain tissue. This value was obtained through use of 6-second microwave irradiation for killing animals and inactivating enzymes, followed by a pyrolysis-gas chromatographic assay procedure. The identities of compounds measured from brain samples were verified by mass spectrometry.     

Extremely long-lived nuclear pore proteins in the rat brain

To combat the functional decline of the proteome, cells use the process of protein turnover to replace potentially impaired polypeptides with new functional copies. We found that extremely long-lived proteins (ELLPs) did not turn over in postmitotic cells of the rat central nervous system. These ELLPs were associated with chromatin and the nuclear pore complex, the central transport channels that mediate all molecular trafficking in and out of the nucleus. The longevity of these proteins would be expected to expose them to potentially harmful metabolites, putting them at risk of accumulating damage over extended periods of time. Thus, it is possible that failure to maintain proper levels and functional integrity of ELLPs in nonproliferative cells might contribute to age-related deterioration in cell and tissue function.     

Selective localization of tetracycline in mitochondria of living cells

The property of tetracycline to induce fluorescence has been used to determine its localization in living cells. It was found that this antibiotic, as well as the related antibiotics oxytetracycline and chlorotetracycline, specifically combines with the mitochondria of living cells, either in tissue culture or in fresh preparations from various organs.     

Protein synthesis in the hippocampal pyramidal cells of rats during a behavioral test

Protein synthesis was studied in the pyramidal nerve cells of the CA3 region in the hippocampus of rats uring a behavioral test involving transfer of handedness. A new electrophoretic technique was used for separation of 10(-7) to 10(-9) gram of protein and radiometric determination of the various protein fractions. After interventricular administration of (3)H-leucine, protein synthesis of two fast-moving fractions was significantly higher bilaterally in the hippocampus of the trained rats. There was also a trend to lateralization of the highest protein synthesis to the learning side.