The Journal of Neurophysiology Vol. 79 No. 1 January 1998, pp. 45-50
Copyright ©1998 The American Physiological Society

Transmitter Regulation of Plateau Properties in Turtle Motoneurons

Gytis Svirskis and Jørn Hounsgaard

Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Biomedical Research Institute, Kaunas Medical Academy, 3000 Kaunas, Lithuania; and Department of Medical Physiology, The Panum Institute, Copenhagen University, DK-2200 Copenhagen, Denmark

Svirskis, Gytis and Jørn Hounsgaard. Transmitter regulation of plateau properties in turtle motoneurons. J. Neurophysiol. 79: 45-50, 1998. In motoneurons, generation of plateau potentials is promoted by modulators that block potassium channels. In voltage-clamp experiments with triangular voltage ramp commands, we show that cis-(±)-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (cis-ACPD) and muscarine promote the generation of plateau potentials by increasing the dihydropyridine sensitive inward current, by increasing the input resistance, and by depolarizing the resting membrane potential. Type I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR I) mediate the effects of cis-ACPD. Baclofen suppresses generation of plateau potentials by decreasing the dihydropyridine sensitive inward current, by decreasing the input resistance, and by hyperpolarizing the resting membrane potential. These results suggest that membrane properties of motoneurons are continuously modulated by synaptic activity in ways that may have profound effects on synaptic integration and pattern generation.

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