|
|
||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, Lancashire, United Kingdom
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: e.bracci{at}manchester.ac.uk.
The ability of synaptically released GABA to facilitate action potential generation in striatal projection neurons was investigated in brain slices using current-clamp, gramicidin-perforated whole-cell recordings. Evoked GABAergic postsynaptic potentials (PSPs) were pharmacologically isolated with ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonists. Subthreshold depolarizing current injections were paired with GABAergic PSPs at different intervals. GABAergic PSPs were able to convert current injection-induced depolarisations from subthreshold to suprathreshold, but only when they preceded the current injection by an appropriate interval; accordingly, action potentials were observed 4-140 ms after the onset of the GABAergic PSP, and their likelihood was maximal after 50-60 ms. The GABAergic excitatory effects were fully blocked by the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline. Appropriately timed GABA PSPs decreased the time taken by current injections to depolarise projection neurons, causing an apparent reduction in the spike threshold. In control solution, the ability of evoked PSPs (comprising both glutamatergic and GABAergic components) to reach spike threshold was often impaired by bicuculline. We conclude that GABAergic PSPs can exert excitatory effects on projection neurons, and that this ability crucially depends on the timing between the GABAergic event and a concomitant depolarizing input.
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
N. Dehorter, C. Guigoni, C. Lopez, J. Hirsch, A. Eusebio, Y. Ben-Ari, and C. Hammond Dopamine-Deprived Striatal GABAergic Interneurons Burst and Generate Repetitive Gigantic IPSCs in Medium Spiny Neurons J. Neurosci., June 17, 2009; 29(24): 7776 - 7787. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. Hjorth, K. T. Blackwell, and J. Hellgren Kotaleski Gap Junctions between Striatal Fast-Spiking Interneurons Regulate Spiking Activity and Synchronization as a Function of Cortical Activity J. Neurosci., April 22, 2009; 29(16): 5276 - 5286. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
K. Kirmse, A. Dvorzhak, S. Kirischuk, and R. Grantyn GABA transporter 1 tunes GABAergic synaptic transmission at output neurons of the mouse neostriatum J. Physiol., December 1, 2008; 586(23): 5665 - 5678. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. Blomeley and E. Bracci Substance P depolarizes striatal projection neurons and facilitates their glutamatergic inputs J. Physiol., April 15, 2008; 586(8): 2143 - 2155. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Z. Liu, Y. Otsu, C. Vasuta, H. Nawa, and T. H. Murphy Action-Potential-Independent GABAergic Tone Mediated by Nicotinic Stimulation of Immature Striatal Miniature Synaptic Transmission J Neurophysiol, August 1, 2007; 98(2): 581 - 593. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
P. Pakhotin and E. Bracci Cholinergic Interneurons Control the Excitatory Input to the Striatum J. Neurosci., January 10, 2007; 27(2): 391 - 400. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
F. Kasanetz, L. A. Riquelme, P. O'Donnell, and M. G. Murer Turning off cortical ensembles stops striatal Up states and elicits phase perturbations in cortical and striatal slow oscillations in rat in vivo J. Physiol., November 15, 2006; 577(1): 97 - 113. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH |
| Visit Other APS Journals Online |