Linked Life Data

10712482

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/10712482

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
2000-4-11
pubmed:abstractText
The primary afferent fibers from the electroreceptors of mormyrid electric fish terminate centrally in the granular layer of the electrosensory lobe (ELL). This study examines the excitatory and inhibitory processes that take place in this layer using an in vitro slice preparation and field potentials evoked by stimulation of primary afferent fibers in the deep fiber layer of ELL. The postsynaptic response to stimulation of the afferent fibers was still present after blocking chemical transmission in three different ways: by adding glutamate receptor antagonists to the medium, by substituting a nominally calcium-free medium for normal medium, and by blocking calcium channels with cadmium. Blockade of chemical transmission was demonstrated by disappearance of control responses to parallel fiber stimulation. The continued presence of a postsynaptic response in the absence of chemical excitation is consistent with previous anatomic and physiological evidence for electrical synapses between afferent fibers and granular cells in ELL. Granular cell activation by primary afferent fibers was followed by a powerful, short-latency inhibition mediated by GABA and GABA(A) receptors, as indicated by a large increase in the postsynaptic response to afferent fiber stimulation following application of the GABA(A) receptor antagonist, bicuculline. Bicuculline caused a marked increase of the postsynaptic response even after chemical synaptic excitation had been blocked by glutamate receptor antagonists, by a calcium-free medium, or by cadmium. Thus activation of the inhibitory interneurons responsible for GABA release did not require chemical excitation. Nonchemical excitation of the inhibitory interneurons could be mediated either by electrical synapses between afferent fibers and inhibitory interneurons, or by nonsynaptic activation of the large GABAergic terminals that are known to be present on granular cells. The marked increase of the postsynaptic response caused by bicuculline in a calcium-free medium or in the presence of cadmium suggests that the release of GABA by inhibitory terminals was not entirely dependent on calcium influx. This effect of bicuculline on the postsynaptic response in a calcium-free medium or in the presence of cadmium was markedly reduced by prior addition of the GABA transporter antagonist, nipecotic acid. Thus calcium-independent release of GABA may occur in ELL and may be partly dependent on reversal of a GABA transporter. Rapid and powerful inhibition at the first stage in the processing of electrosensory information could serve to enhance the small differences in latency among afferent fibers that appear to encode small differences in stimulus intensity.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Mar
pubmed:issn
0022-3077
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
83
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
1592-604
pubmed:dateRevised
2008-11-21
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2000
pubmed:articleTitle
Rapid activation of GABAergic interneurons and possible calcium independent GABA release in the mormyrid electrosensory lobe.
pubmed:affiliation
Neurological Sciences Institute, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon 97209, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S., Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't