The role of putative excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters in the initiation of locomotion in the lamprey spinal cord. I. The effects of excitatory amino acid antagonists

Newly identified 'glutamate interneurons' and their role in locomotion in the lamprey spinal cord

A new class of excitatory premotor interneurons that are important in the generation of locomotion in the lamprey has now been described. In the isolated spinal cord, these neurons act simultaneously with their postsynaptic motoneurons during fictive swimming. They are small and numerous, and they monosynaptically excite both motoneurons and inhibitory premotor interneurons. The excitatory postsynaptic potentials are depressed by an antagonist of excitatory amino acids. These interneurons receive reticulospinal input from the brain stem and polysynaptic input form skin afferents. A model of the network underlying locomotion based on the synaptic interactions of these neurons can now be proposed for the lamprey.

Single sensory neurons activate excitatory amino acid receptors in the lamprey spinal cord

The effects of excitatory amino acid (EAA) antagonists were tested on sensory afferent excitation in the lamprey spinal cord. Paired intracellular recordings were made from mechanosensory neurons (dorsal cells) and second order sensory neurons (giant interneurons). Stimulation of individual dorsal cells evoked mono- and/or polysynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) in giant interneurons. These EPSPs were depressed by the EAA antagonists cis-2,3-piperidine dicarboxylate and kynurenic acid. Small components of the synaptic potentials were due to electrical coupling since they were not depressed by EAA antagonists or by calcium-free solution. The N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist 2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate did not depress short-latency EPSPs. Thus, mechanosensory neurons in the lamprey spinal cord activate EAA receptors (kainate/quisqualate receptors) on interneurons, via mixed chemical and electrical synapses.

N-methyl-D,L-aspartate-induced locomotor activity in a spinal cord-hindlimb muscles preparation of the newborn rat studied in vitro

Bath-applied N-methyl-D,L-aspartate (NMA) was found to elicit locomotor electromyogram (EMG) activity in ankle flexor and extensor muscles in an in vitro lumbar cord-hindlimb preparation of the newborn rat. The frequency and burst duration of the NMA-induced rhythmic EMG activity varied in a dose-dependent manner. The locomotor activity was also observed in a mid sagittally split lumbar spinal preparation, in which the frequency was much lower. It is concluded that spinal neurones with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are involved in producing locomotor activity in the rat and that each spinal half can generate hindlimb locomotion on the ipsilateral side.

Effects of magnesium on fictive locomotion induced by activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the lamprey spinal cord in vitro

It has previously been demonstrated that an activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors can induce fictive locomotion as well as tetrodotoxin (TTX)-resistant membrane potential oscillations in certain types of neurones in the in vitro preparation of the lamprey spinal cord. These oscillations in individual neurones depend on voltage-sensitive properties of NMDA-activated channels which are only manifested in the presence of Mg2+. To evaluate the role of these pacemaker-like oscillations in the generation of locomotion, the motor patterns induced by N-methyl-D,L-aspartate (NMA) before and after removal of Mg2+ were compared. It was found that the ventral root burst pattern of fictive locomotion was more irregular after removal of Mg2+, particularly at low burst rates. This suggests that the membrane properties underlying the NMDA-induced TTX-resistant membrane potential oscillations are of importance for the generation of a stable and regular locomotor activity in particular at low rates of fictive locomotion. When fictive locomotion was induced instead by an activation of kainate receptors a removal of Mg2+ had no effect on the motor pattern. The effects of the two K+-channel blockers, tetraethylammonium (TEA) and gallamine were also tested on NMA-induced fictive locomotion. Both compounds caused an increase in the burst frequency. The Mg2+-dependent NMDA-induced bistable membrane properties thus appear to be of importance for the operation of the network which generates the locomotor pattern.

The role of putative excitatory amino acid neurotransmitters in the initiation of locomotion in the lamprey spinal cord. II. The effects of amino acid uptake inhibitors

Fictive locomotion can be evoked in an in vitro preparation of the lamprey spinal cord by an activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) or kainate receptors. To obtain further knowledge of the putative transmitters underlying this activation the effects of L-glutamate and L-aspartate were examined. These endogenous amino acids exerted a distinctly different effect as compared to the synthetic amino acids (N-methyl-D,L-aspartate and kainate) previously tested. In a wide dose range L-glutamate and L-aspartate elicited fictive locomotion only when the bathing solution was rapidly circulated over the spinal cord surface. In the absence of fluid circulation the activity rapidly ceased. To test if this effect was due to an uptake of amino acids, two amino acid uptake inhibitors were administered. After exposure to p-chloromercuriphenylsulphonate (pCMS) or dihydrokainate (DHK), L-glutamate and L-aspartate elicited continuous fictive locomotion independently of whether the bathing fluid was circulated or not. This treatment also markedly lowered the threshold doses of L-glutamate and L-aspartate, while the effects of NMA and kainate were barely affected. Fictive locomotion induced by sensory stimulation of the tailfin was also prolonged by dihydrokainate. These findings suggest that a highly effective amino acid uptake system is present in the lamprey spinal cord and furthermore that it takes part in the inactivation of synaptically released acidic amino acid neurotransmitters, which are of importance for the initiation of locomotion.

The ionic mechanisms underlying N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-induced, tetrodotoxin-resistant membrane potential oscillations in lamprey neurons active during locomotion

Activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors can induce tetrodotoxin (TTX)-resistant membrane potential oscillations as well as fictive locomotion in the in vitro preparation of the lamprey spinal cord. The ionic basis of these oscillations were investigated in the presence of N-methyl-D,L-aspartate and TTX. Addition of blocking agents (2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate and tetraethylammonium (TEA)) and selective removal or substitution of certain ions (Mg2+, Ca2+, Na+, Ba2+) were used in the analysis of the oscillations. The depolarizing phase of the oscillation requires Na+ ions but not Ca2+ ions. The depolarization becomes larger if TEA is administered in the bath, which presumably is due to a blockade of potassium (K+) channels activated during the depolarizing phase. The repolarization appears to depend on a Ca2+ entry, which presumably acts indirectly by an activation of Ca2+-dependent K+ channels. Together with the NMDA-induced voltage dependence, this will bring the membrane potential back down to a hyperpolarized level.