Letter to NeuroscienceProperties and origin of spikelets in thalamocortical neurones in vitro
Section snippets
Experimental procedures
All the procedures involving experimental animals were carried out in accordance with the UK Animals (Scientific Procedure) Act, 1986 and local ethics committee guidelines. All efforts were made to minimise animal suffering and the number of animals used. Young adult cats (1–1.5 kg) were deeply anaesthetised with a mixture of O2 and NO2 (2:1) and 1% halothane, a wide craniotomy performed and the brain removed. Coronal or sagittal slices of the thalamus containing the LGN were prepared and
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank Dr H.R. Parri for helpful discussion on the manuscript. We are grateful to Mr. T.M. Gould for excellent technical assistance. This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust (Grant 37089-98).
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2021, Developmental Cognitive NeuroscienceRegulatory Roles of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors on Synaptic Communication Mediated by Gap Junctions
2021, NeuroscienceCitation Excerpt :Involvement of mGluRs in regulating electrical transmission was first inferred from intracellular recordings of individual thalamocortical cells in slices of the cat dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. Hughes et al. (2002) observed that following bath application of either the mGluR group I/II agonist trans-ACPD or the group I agonist DHPG, there was (i) an increase in the detection of ‘spikelets’, small brief responses that represent gap junction-mediated postsynaptic manifestations of presynaptic action potentials, and (ii) an increased incidence of dye coupling. Consistent with the interpretation that the observed responses represented spikelets, their frequency was reduced by TTX, a voltage-dependent Na+ channel blocker which blocks action potentials, and by carbenoxolone, a compound known to block gap junction channels.
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2016, NeuronCitation Excerpt :Electrical synapses formed by gap junctions (GJs) mediate intercellular communication by allowing direct flow of current between neurons. GJ-mediated electrical coupling between inhibitory interneurons (INs) has been observed in many regions of the brain including the thalamus (Hughes et al., 2002; Landisman et al., 2002), hippocampus (Baude et al., 2007; Kosaka and Hama, 1985), neocortex (Galarreta and Hestrin, 1999; Gibson et al., 1999; Tamás et al., 2000), and cerebellar cortex (Alcami and Marty, 2013; Dugué et al., 2009; Mann-Metzer and Yarom, 1999; Sotelo and Llinás, 1972). It is well established that an action potential (AP) depolarizes its electrically coupled neighbors.
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2013, Sleep Medicine ReviewsCitation Excerpt :Electrical coupling and Cx36 labeling are present in the reticular nucleus of the thalamus.11–13 Electrical coupling is also evident in thalamic relay neurons (TRN), but only in the presence of metabotropic glutamate (GLUT) receptor agonists.14 Electrical synapses appear mainly between GABAergic neurons in the thalamic reticular nucleus, where they may promote synchronization of burst firing in the cortex and enhance the synchrony of gamma oscillations.15–17
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Present address: MRC Anatomical Neuropharmacology Unit, University Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TH, UK.