NBQX, a selective antagonist of the AMPA receptor, affects neither field potentials nor long-term potentiation in vivo

Coantagonism of glutamate receptors and nicotinic acetylcholinergic receptors disrupts fear conditioning and latent inhibition of fear conditioning

The present study investigated the hypothesis that both nicotinic acetylcholinergic receptors (nAChRs) and glutamate receptors (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate receptors (AMPARs) and N-methyl-d-aspartate glutamate receptors (NMDARs)) are involved in fear conditioning, and may modulate similar processes. The effects of the nAChR antagonist mecamylamine administered alone, the AMPAR antagonist NBQX administered alone, and the NMDAR antagonist MK-801 administered alone on cued fear conditioning, contextual fear conditioning, and latent inhibition of cued fear conditioning were examined. In addition, the effects of coadministration of either mecamylamine and NBQX or mecamylamine and MK-801 on these behaviors were examined. Consistent with previous studies, neither mecamylamine nor NBQX administered alone disrupted any of the tasks. However, coadministration of mecamylamine and NBQX disrupted both contextual fear conditioning and latent inhibition of cued fear conditioning. In addition, coadministration of mecamylamine with a dose of MK-801 subthreshold for disrupting either task disrupted both contextual fear conditioning and latent inhibition of cued fear conditioning. Coadministration of mecamylamine and NBQX, and coadministration of mecamylamine with a dose of MK-801 subthreshold for disrupting fear conditioning had little effect on cued fear conditioning. These results suggest that nAChRs and glutamate receptors may support similar processes mediating acquisition of contextual fear conditioning and latent inhibition of fear conditioning.

Kindling and status epilepticus models of epilepsy: rewiring the brain

This review focuses on the remodeling of brain circuitry associated with epilepsy, particularly in excitatory glutamate and inhibitory GABA systems, including alterations in synaptic efficacy, growth of new connections, and loss of existing connections. From recent studies on the kindling and status epilepticus models, which have been used most extensively to investigate temporal lobe epilepsy, it is now clear that the brain reorganizes itself in response to excess neural activation, such as seizure activity. The contributing factors to this reorganization include activation of glutamate receptors, second messengers, immediate early genes, transcription factors, neurotrophic factors, axon guidance molecules, protein synthesis, neurogenesis, and synaptogenesis. Some of the resulting changes may, in turn, contribute to the permanent alterations in seizure susceptibility. There is increasing evidence that neurogenesis and synaptogenesis can appear not only in the mossy fiber pathway in the hippocampus but also in other limbic structures. Neuronal loss, induced by prolonged seizure activity, may also contribute to circuit restructuring, particularly in the status epilepticus model. However, it is unlikely that any one structure, plastic system, neurotrophin, or downstream effector pathway is uniquely critical for epileptogenesis. The sensitivity of neural systems to the modulation of inhibition makes a disinhibition hypothesis compelling for both the triggering stage of the epileptic response and the long-term changes that promote the epileptic state. Loss of selective types of interneurons, alteration of GABA receptor configuration, and/or decrease in dendritic inhibition could contribute to the development of spontaneous seizures.

The non-NMDA receptor antagonist NBQX does not affect rats performance in the object recognition task

Though the AMPA receptor has been implicated in several neurodegenerative processes (epilepsy, ischemia, spasticity), its role in cognition is yet to be clarified. The aim of this study was to assess in the rat the effects of the AMPA receptor antagonist NBQX (3.5, 7, 10, 20 and 30 mgkg(-1), i.p.) on learning and memory. For this purpose, the object recognition task was chosen. NBQX, at the higher doses used (20 and 30 mgkg(-1)) caused respectively, depression of motility and ataxia, while given at lower doses (3.5, 7 and 10 mgkg(-1)) it did not influence animals performance in the object recognition paradigm. All rats acquired similarly well the task. In conclusion, these results would support and broaden previous observations on the lack of major involvement of AMPA receptors in the rat working memory mechanisms.

AMPA receptor antagonists, GYKI 52466 and NBQX, do not block the induction of long-term potentiation at therapeutically relevant concentrations

The involvement of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylizoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) receptors in induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) was examined in rat hippocampal slice preparation. Using conventional extracellular recording, excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) and population action potentials (PSs), evoked by low-frequency stimulation of the Schaffer collateral-commissural fibres, were recorded in the CA1 region. The effects of a competitive AMPA receptor antagonist, 6-nitro-7-sulfamoylbenzo(f)quinoxaline-2, 3-dione (NBQX), and that of a non-competitive blocker, 1-(4-aminophenyl)-4-methyl-7,8-methylendioxy-5H-2,3-benzodiazepine (GYKI 52466) have been examined. 0.25-0.5 microM of NBQX and 20-40 microM of GYKI 52466 did not suppress the induction of LTP. LTP was attenuated only at the highest concentrations tested (1 microM NBQX or 80 microM GYKI 52466). These in vitro concentrations, however, exceed the brain levels needed for in vivo anticonvulsant action. Furthermore, even at the highest concentrations both compounds suppressed only the expression but not the induction of LTP. Namely after their washout LTP reappeared. Thus, at pharmacologically relevant concentrations these AMPA receptor antagonists apparently do not suppress LTP, a cellular mechanism underlying memory formation. These experiments suggest that in clinical practice AMPA receptor blockade may have some advantage over N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonism, which is accompanied by severe memory impairment.

Effects of YM90K, a selective AMPA receptor antagonist, on amygdala-kindling and long-term hippocampal potentiation in the rat

To investigate the role of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) type glutamate receptors in epileptic seizures, we examined the antiepileptogenic and anticonvulsant effects of YM90K [6-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)-7-nitro-2,3-(1H,4H)-quinoxalinedione hydrochloride], a potent and selective new AMPA receptor antagonist, in the rat amygdala-kindling model of epilepsy. Pretreatment with YM90K (7.5-30 mg/kg i.p.) markedly retarded the evolution of kindling. Once kindling was established, administration of YM90K (7.5-30 mg/kg i.p.) significantly and dose-dependently suppressed fully kindled seizures. The maximal effects were observed 15-30 min after injection. When the intensity of electrical stimulation was increased to twice the generalized seizure-triggering threshold, the anticonvulsant effects of YM90K were reversed, suggesting that they were due to elevation of the generalized seizure-triggering threshold. Furthermore, an anticonvulsant dose (15 mg/kg) of YM90K affected neither field potentials nor long-term potentiation in the hippocampus in vivo. These results indicate that AMPA receptors play an important role in the seizure expression mechanism and the development of kindling-induced epileptogenesis, and suggest the possible clinical usefulness of AMPA receptor antagonists as antiepileptic drugs.

NMDA but not AMPA receptor antagonists impair the delay-interposed radial maze performance of rats

The effects of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists CGS19755 and MK801 and the 2-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-proprionic acid (AMPA) receptor antagonist YM90K on spatial working memory were investigated by using a delay-interposed radial-arm maze (RAM) task in rats. CGS19755 and MK801, at the largest dose that had no effect on the performance in the nondelayed RAM task, significantly decreased the initial correct response after the 5-min delay in the delay-interposed RAM task. In contrast, YM90K had no effect on the initial correct response and arm reentries in both the delay-interposed and nondelayed RAM task. CGS19755, MK801 and YM90K, at all doses tested, did not alter the running time in either the delayed or the nondelayed RAM tasks. These results suggest that spatial working memory can be impaired by a blockade of NMDA receptor function and that such impairment is particularly sensitive to delay interposition. The lack of effect of the AMPA receptor antagonist provides additional evidence of the importance of the NMDA subtype of the glutamate receptors in cognitive processes.

NMDA-but not AMPA-receptor antagonists augment scopolamine-induced spatial cognitive deficit of rats in a radial maze task

The effect of NMDA and AMPA receptor antagonists on a scopolamine-induced spatial cognitive deficit was investigated in rats using an 8-arm radial maze. The NMDA antagonists, MK801 and CGS19755, robustly augmented scopolamine-induced deficits but had no effect on spatial cognition when administered alone. In contrast, augmentation of the scopolamine-induced deficits was not observed when the selective AMPA antagonist, YM90K, was administered with scopolamine. These results suggest that the NMDA but not AMPA subtypes of the ionotropic glutamate receptors play important roles in regulation of the central cholinergic function related to the spatial learning and memory processes.