Inhibition of dendritic L-type calcium current by memantine in frog tectum

The aim of the study was to explore the effects of memantine on responses elicited in the frog tectum by the bursts of spikes of moderate strength of a single retina ganglion cell and to gain an insight about the effect of memantine on the L-type Ca(2+) current.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The experiments were performed in vivo on adult frogs (Rana temporaria). An individual retina ganglion cell (or its retinotectal fiber) was stimulated by current pulses delivered through a multichannel stimulating electrode positioned on the retina. Responses to the discharge of a single retinal ganglion cell were recorded in the tectum by an extracellular carbon-fiber microelectrode positioned in the terminal arborization of the retinotectal fiber in the tectum layer F. The solution of memantine (1-amino-3,5-dimethyladamantane) hydrochloride (30 or 45 μM) was applied onto the surface of the tectum by perfusion at a rate of 0.4 mL/min.

RESULTS

Memantine (30-45 μM) largely inhibited the L-type Ca(2+) channel-mediated slow negative wave and late discharges seen in the tectum responses without any effect on fast synaptic retinotectal transmission.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that the neuroprotective effect of memantine could arise not only through the inhibition of the NMDA receptor current but also through the suppression of the L-type Ca(2+) current.

Brainstem areas activated by diazepam withdrawal as measured by Fos-protein immunoreactivity in rats

In the 1970s, chronic treatment with benzodiazepines was supposed not to cause dependence. However, by the end of the decade several reports showed that the interruption of a prolonged treatment with diazepam leads to a withdrawal syndrome characterized, among other symptoms, by an exaggerated level of anxiety. In laboratory animals, signs that oscillate from irritability to extreme fear-like behaviors and convulsions have also been reported. In recent years many studies have attempted to disclose the neural substrates responsible for the benzodiazepines withdrawal. However, they have focused on telencephalic structures such as the prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens and amygdala. In this study, we examined the Fos immunoreactivity in brain structures known to be implicated in the neural substrates of aversion in rats under spontaneous diazepam-withdrawal. We found that the same group of structures that originally modulate the defensive responses evoked by fear stimuli, including the dorso-medial hypothalamus, the superior and inferior colliculus and the dorsal periaqueductal gray, were most labeled following diazepam withdrawal. It is suggested that an enhanced neural activation of neural substrates of fear in the midbrain tectum may underlie the aversive state elicited in diazepam-withdrawn rats.

Functional and ultrastructural neuroanatomy of interactive intratectal/tectonigral mesencephalic opioid inhibitory links and nigrotectal GABAergic pathways: Involvement of GABAA and μ1-opioid receptors in the modulation of panic-like reactions elicited by electrical stimulation of the dorsal midbrain

In the present study, the functional neuroanatomy of nigrotectal-tectonigral pathways as well as the effects of central administration of opioid antagonists on aversive stimuli-induced responses elicited by electrical stimulation of the midbrain tectum were determined. Central microinjections of naloxonazine, a selective mu(1)-opiod receptor antagonist, in the mesencephalic tectum (MT) caused a significant increase in the escape thresholds elicited by local electrical stimulation. Furthermore, either naltrexone or naloxonazine microinjected in the substantia nigra, pars reticulata (SNpr), caused a significant increase in the defensive thresholds elicited by electrical stimulation of the continuum comprised by dorsolateral aspects of the periaqueductal gray matter (dlPAG) and deep layers of the superior colliculus (dlSC), as compared with controls. These findings suggest an opioid modulation of GABAergic inhibitory inputs controlling the defensive behavior elicited by MT stimulation, in cranial aspects. In fact, iontophoretic microinjections of the neurotracer biodextran into the SNpr, a mesencephalic structure rich in GABA-containing neurons, show outputs to neural substrate of the dlSC/dlPAG involved with the generation and organization of fear- and panic-like reactions. Neurochemical lesion of the nigrotectal pathways increased the sensitivity of the MT to electrical (at alertness, freezing and escape thresholds) and chemical (blockade of GABA(A) receptors) stimulation, suggesting a tonic modulatory effect of the nigrotectal GABAergic outputs on the neural networks of the MT involved with the organization of the defensive behavior and panic-like reactions. Labeled neurons of the midbrain tectum send inputs with varicosities to ipsi and contralateral dlSC/dlPAG and ipsilateral substantia nigra, pars reticulata and compacta, in which the anterograde and retrograde tracing from a single injection indicates that the substantia nigra has reciprocal connections with the dlSC/dlPAG featuring close axo-somatic and axo-dendritic appositions in both locations. In addition, ultrastructural approaches show inhibitory axo-axonic synapses in MT and inhibitory axo-somatic/axo-axonic synapses in the SNpr. These findings, in addition to the psychopharmacological evidence for the interaction between opioid and GABAergic mechanisms in the cranial aspects of the MT as well as in the mesencephalic tegmentum, offer a neuroanatomical basis of a pre-synaptic opioid inhibition of GABAergic nigrotectal neurons modulating fear in defensive behavior-related structures of the cranial mesencephalon, in a short link, and through a major neural circuit, also in GABA-containing perikarya and axons of nigrotectal neurons.

[Taurine effects on background impulse activity of the internal geniculate body neurons and mesencephalic inferior tubers of white rats]

Microelectrophysiological and computer techniques were used in the study of background impulse activity (BIA) of the internal geniculate body (IGB) neurons and mesencephalic inferior tubers (MIT) of white rats. Definite differences were found in BIA by regularity, dynamic types and modality of interimpulse histograms. Mean frequency of MIT neuron discharges was 16-17 Hz and was about 3 times higher than in neurons of the IGB. Intraperitoneal injection of taurin noticeably suppressed neuronal activity in both nuclei. The drug reduced mean frequency of background impulse discharges both in MIT and IGB. Thus, taurin produces primarily suppressing modulating effect on neuronal activity of IGB and MIT.

Regulation of ipsilateral visual information within the tectofugal visual system in zebra finches

The eyes of zebra finches are placed laterally, the foveae are looking into different directions. It is unlikely that the birds are able to process different images from both eyes simultaneously. A neural mechanism might therefore be necessary to guide the birds' attention to one of the two eyes and to reduce the processing of information of the other. Previous studies revealed that information from the ipsilateral eye is indeed suppressed on its way to the telencephalon by the activity of the contralateral eye. It has been suggested that two nuclei of the tecto-thalamic tract, nucleus subpraetectalis and nucleus interstitio praetecto subpraetectalis, are a central part of such a suppressive mechanism. Using electrophysiological recordings, we investigated the influence of these two nuclei and nucleus rotundus on the processing of binocular visual information by treating the nuclei with picrotoxin or electrolytic lesions. Deactivation of inhibitory neurons within SP/IPS leads to a significant increase of the ectostriatal responses to ipsilateral and bilateral stimulation, the responses to contralateral stimulation remain unaffected. Lesioning SP/IPS does not alter the responses to visual stimuli. Treatment of nucleus rotundus with picrotoxin increases contralaterally and bilaterally, but not ipsilaterally evoked responses. A wiring diagram is presented which interprets these findings.

Epileptic discharge of cortical, subcortical and spinal neurons in penicillin induced experimental epilepsy

The sensitivity and electrophysiological patterns of paroxysmal activity induced in different brain structures by topical application of penicillin-G were evaluated in the rat. Recordings were carried out in five groups of animals, in telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon, rombencephalon and spinal cords. The following analysis were carried out: frequency distribution histograms, latency and time course duration of paroxysmal activity, duration and amplitude of epileptic bursts. The results obtained showed that the nervous structures tested with penicillin-G had a different epileptogenic sensitivity and response pattern which significantly changed along the cerebral cortex-spinal cord axis. The highest epileptic sensitivity was observed in somatosensory cortex (SI) at 500-600 microns depth; in the other cortical layers, a significant lenghtening in latency was observed. Among the other structures, the spinal cord seemed to be the most sensitive target to the epileptogenic action of penicillin-G, whereas in the remaining structures, sensitivity significantly decreased in rostro-caudal direction. As far as the features of the paroxysmal activity are concerned, significant differences among tested structures were observed. In particular, within the SI cortex, the main differences were represented by the gradual increase in burst frequency and voltage from the surface to the IVth layer and by their subsequent decrease in deeper layers (V-VI). In the diencephalon, the paroxysmal activity was similar to that observed in more superficial and deeper cortical layers even though epileptic bursts showed a lower amplitude. Mesencephalon and rombencephalon displayed a paroxysmal activity with a distinctive feature, characterized by long lasting bursts of low amplitude, although bulbar outbursts showed a shorter duration than the mesencephalic ones. In the spinal cord, the epileptiform activity displayed a different paroxysmal pattern, characterized by the longest duration and the highest amplitude. The different sensitivities of the investigated brain structures to penicillin-G and the characteristics of the induced paroxysmal activity have been extensively discussed.

Saccade-induced activity of dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus X- and Y-cells during pharmacological inactivation of the cat pretectum

The influence of neurons projecting from the pretectal nuclear complex to the ipsilateral dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd) was investigated in awake cats. Responses from relay cells in the A-laminae of the LGNd were extracellularly recorded and analyzed during saccadic eye movements and visual stimulation in association with reversible inactivation of the ipsilateral pretectum with the GABA agonist, muscimol. Pretectal inactivation (PTI) resulted in spontaneous nystagmic eye movements in the dark with slow phases directed away from the injected side. In the control situation, all Y-cells and about two thirds of X-cells were excited during saccades or saccade-like visual stimulation but one third of X-cells were inhibited. During PTI all recorded X-cells were inhibited, either during saccades or saccade-like visual stimulation. The PTI-associated inhibition was stronger than in inhibited X-cells in control experiments only during saccades but not during stimulation with a moving pattern while the eyes were stationary. In Y-cells a reduction in the response peak width at half-height was seen during PTI, again only during saccades but not during stimulation with a moving pattern. These results indicate that during saccades the pretecto-geniculate pathway has a stronger influence on X LGNd relay cells than on Y-cells. The findings are discussed in terms of saccadic suppression and postsaccadic facilitation.

Neurosteroid modulation of the benzodiazepine receptor in developing chick optic lobe

The modulation of [3H]flunitrazepam binding by 3 alpha-hydroxy-5 alpha-dihydroprogesterone (3 alpha-OH-DHP) and 3 alpha, 5 alpha-tetrahydrodeoxicorticosterone (3 alpha-THDOC) was investigated in synaptic membranes isolated from chick optic lobe at three developmental stages, in order to evaluate the role of neurosteroids in central nervous system functional maturation. It was demonstrated that both steroids modulate [3H]flunitrazepam binding in a concentration-dependent manner at embryonic day 14, hatching and adult stage, producing maximal [3H]flunitrazepam binding enhancement at early stages of development and declining thereafter. EC50 values for 3 alpha-OH-DHP were lower than for 3 alpha-THDOC at all stages examined. On the other hand, Emax values were higher with 3 alpha-OH-DHP than with 3 alpha-THDOC. Scatchard analysis performed at embryonic day 14, hatching and adult stage showed that dissociation constants (Kd) were of 22.23 +/- 0.15, 18.38 +/- 1.15 and 19.86 +/- 0.62 nM, and maximal number of binding sites (Bmax) were 1.95 +/- 0.15, 3.13 +/- 0.21 and 2.25 +/- 0.13 pmol/mg protein, respectively. By adding 4 microM of either 3 alpha-OH-DHP or 3 alpha-THDOC, Kd values decreased significantly to 10.65 +/- 0.62, 9.71 +/- 0.85 and 13.25 +/- 0.74 nM or 9.54 +/- 0.65, 11.20 +/- 1.27 and 12.96 +/- 1.38 nM, at the above mentioned stages, respectively. Thus, either drug at the given concentration increased the affinity of benzodiazepine receptor sites for [3H]flunitrazepam, while the density of receptor sites remained unchanged. Our results suggest that these steroids display a positive allosteric modulation of benzodiazepine receptor sites which is inversely related to age.

Effect of acetylcholine and NMDA on neurones of avian tectum and nucleus isthmi

In the present study the effects of microiontophoretically applied acetylcholine and NMDA were investigated on neurones of the avian nucleus isthmi. Whereas acetylcholine affected equally cell firing in the two parts of the nucleus, the magnocellular (Imc) and the parvocellular (Ipc) division, the effect of NMDA was predominantly confined to Ipc. The NMDA induced firing was specifically blocked by the antagonist CPP, while having no effect on acetylcholine. Our results support earlier findings that isthmo-tectal feedback loops can be modulated by distinct mechanisms in separate divisions of nucleus isthmi.

Characterization of homologous 5-hydroxytryptamine4 receptor desensitization in colliculi neurons

Exposure of mouse colliculi neurons to selective 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)4 agonists was accompanied by a rapid desensitization of the receptor-stimulated adenylyl cyclase response. Half-maximal desensitization occurred after 2 min. Only exposure of neurons to selective 5-HT4 agonists led to a potent desensitization of the 5-HT4-mediated response. Neurons exposed to other agents, like isoproterenol, vasoactive intestinal peptide, or forskolin, that increase cAMP levels did not undergo any desensitization of 5-HT4 receptors. Activation of protein kinase A with either 8-bromo-cAMP or dibutyryl-cAMP or application of inhibitors of protein kinase A-dependent phosphorylation did not change the rate of 5-HT4-induced desensitization. No shift to lower potency of 5-HT4 agonists in the concentration-response curve was observed. These results suggest that 5-HT4 receptor agonists induced homologous but not cAMP-mediated heterologous desensitization. A good correlation was found between the affinities of nine 5-HT4 agonists and their abilities to desensitize the adenylyl cyclase response. This may indicate that homologous desensitization is a function of the mean occupancy time of the receptors by agonists. When permeabilized neurons were loaded with heparin, an inhibitor of the beta-adrenergic receptor kinase (beta ARK), 5-HT4 receptor desensitization was reduced by 30-40%. Interestingly, Zn2+, an other inhibitor of beta ARK, totally prevented 5-HT4-induced desensitization. Pretreatment of neurons with concanavalin A, reported to inhibit sequestration of beta-adrenergic receptors from the cell surface, reduced the desensitization process by 70%. These data suggest that both sequestration and phosphorylation by beta ARK, or another specific agonist-dependent receptor kinase, are involved in homologous desensitization of 5-HT4 receptors coupled to adenylyl cyclase.

Evidence for the involvement of serotonin in the antinociception induced by electrical or chemical stimulation of the mesencephalic tectum

A great deal of evidence has shown that electrical stimulation or microinjections of GABAA blockers, such as bicuculline, into the midbrain tectum (MT) produce escape behavior, which has been associated to fear. This study was aimed to examine the characteristics of the analgesia that follows the escape behavior induced by electrical (freezing and escape thresholds) and chemical (bicuculline microinjections) stimulation of the midbrain tectum. Immediately after the expression of the aversive responses the rats were submitted to the tail-flick test. The obtained results show that analgesia always follows aversive responses integrated at the MT level regardless of the kind of stimulation applied. The antinociceptive effects induced by either electrical or chemical stimulation of the MT were not antagonized by central microinjections of naloxone. On the other hand, the non-specific serotonin antagonist methysergide microinjected into the MT was effective in antagonizing the analgesia induced by any of the aversive stimulations. Based on these results we suggest that serotonin, but not opioid mechanisms, may be involved in the integration of antinociceptive responses to stimulation of the midbrain tectum.

Involvement of adrenergic & cholinergic mechanisms in analgesia electrically induced from pretectal nucleus of rat

Analgesia induced by pretectal stimulation in rat was analysed using suitable antagonists. Mild electrical stimulation of sites in the pretectal nucleus (PTN) caused analgesia of long duration, without signs of aversion and unassociated with motor deficit. Pretreatment of animals with ip atropine sulphate (1 mg/kg), phenoxybenzamine (5 mg/kg), sotalol (2 mg/kg) and haloperidol (1 mg/kg) but not with saline, markedly reduced the antinociceptive response to PTN stimulation. Mild PTN stimulation thus seems to induce potent and long lasting analgesia in rats probably involving multisynaptic antinociceptive pathway(s).

Pharmacologic evidence for NMDA, APB and kainate/quisqualate retinotectal transmission in the isolated whole tectum of goldfish

The optic tectum of goldfish with intact optic and toral marginal fiber tracts was isolated in a perfusion chamber where the effectiveness of antagonists was tested on synaptic field potential responses to stimulation of each afferent system. There were 3 main conclusions about excitatory synapses. First, monosynaptic activation of retinotectal synapses was not detectably antagonized by D-tubocurarine, implying there is no nicotinic cholinergic component to optic transmission nor strong cholinergic gating of optic terminals. Second, a significant component of retinotectal transmission was shown to be mediated by kainate and quisqualate receptors since 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione and kynurenate strongly suppressed the optic field potential. In addition, activation of these synapses involves two previously undescribed N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and APB receptor subtypes since optic field potentials were partially suppressed by 2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (APV), 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate (APB) and MK-801. This is the first evidence that APB receptors exist in the visual system central to the retina. Together, these results are consistent with the possibility that retinal ganglion cells use multiple glutamate receptor subtypes. Third, the optic tectum contains a population of intrinsic glutaminergic synapses activated by a non-optic input, the marginal fibers, which can be suppressed by both APV and kynurenate. The existence of tectal NMDA receptors which are not at primary optic synapses implies that APV used to interfere with rearrangement of optic fibers during development may act not only at afferent synapses but also at a more central component of the circuit.

The effects of taxol on embryonic chick tectum maintained in culture: an electron microscope study

Tectal explants from chick embryos, established in culture for 2-3 weeks, were exposed to taxol-enriched media for 1-7 days, fixed, and studied by transmission electron microscopy. Taxol treatment resulted in no apparent disruption of the overall integrity of the organization of the explants nor in grossly increased cell death, but caused marked abnormalities of cytoskeletal elements. Intermediate filaments were increased in number in both neuronal and glial cells and very large numbers of microtubules were present, some aligned below the plasma membrane but most as components of large bundles in neuronal cell bodies and processes. Some such microtubules were associated with a network of intermicrotubule substance, consisting of 10-nm filaments running parallel to the microtubules, in hexagonal arrays surrounding individual microtubules, together with a very fine amorphous or filamentous component which was drawn into thread-like structures that linked the larger filaments to one another and formed the sides of the hexagons. Taxol treatment also resulted in the formation of concentric rings of microtubules separated by cylindrical sheets of electron-dense material. These observations extend previous descriptions of the effects of taxol on cytoskeletal elements, add to growing evidence for heterogeneity of microtubules within neurons, and suggest that taxol may be useful in studies of the functions of cytoskeletal elements and of microtubule heterogeneity in neurons.

Effect of dopamine system activation on substantia nigra pars reticulata output neurons: variable single-unit responses in normal rats and inhibition in 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats

Previous single-unit recording studies have revealed that randomly selected pars reticulata neurons respond in a highly variable and complex fashion to intravenous administration of the dopamine agonist, apomorphine. The current studies were undertaken (1) to assess whether the variable pattern of responses of reticulata neurons to intravenous apomorphine correlates with their sites of projection and (2) to determine how reticulata responses to apomorphine might be altered by the presence of striatal dopaminergic supersensitivity. Extracellular, single-unit recording studies were conducted in anesthetized, paralyzed rats. Pars reticulata neurons were identified by antidromic activation from either the ventromedial nucleus of the thalamus or superior colliculus. Neurons of both subpopulations exhibited similar, highly variable changes in firing rate during the 10-min period immediately following intravenous injection of 320 micrograms/kg of apomorphine, a dose of the drug considered sufficient to stimulate striatal postsynaptic dopamine receptors. These responses, which were not qualitatively different from those previously observed among reticulata cells not distinguished on the basis of projection site, could be reversed by subsequent administration of dopamine antagonist drugs. In contrast to the variable responses in normal animals, the same dose of apomorphine caused a rapid and usually total inhibition of pars reticulata cell firing in rats which received 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway 6 to 8 weeks prior to recording experiments. These inhibitions of firing could also be reversed by administration of dopamine antagonists.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Possible regulatory function of acetylcholine receptor in maintenance of retinotectal synapses

alpha-Neurotoxins bind to cholinergic receptor, block transmission, and induce sprouting of retinal terminals in the toad tectum. New connections retain an orderliness that suggests a selective affinity between presynaptic terminals. The results suggest that postsynaptic cells exert a control, associated with receptors, on the growth of presynaptic terminals and on the maintenance of their synaptic connections.

Morphine hyperglycaemia

1. To find the site where morphine acts when producing hyperglycaemia on injection into the cerebral ventricles in unanaesthetized cats, morphine sulphate was infused or injected through an implanted Collison cannula into different parts of the liquor space in an amount of 0.75 mg except on microinfusion into the posterior hypothalamus, when the amounts were 80 or 160 mug. The glucose was determined in blood samples collected from the inferior vena cava.2. Microinfusions of morphine into the posterior hypothalamus did not produce hyperglycaemia.3. Infusion of morphine into the liquor space at the entrance of the aqueduct or of the fourth ventricle produced hyperglycaemia. Any structures in the walls of the third ventricle as well as the peri-aqueductal grey are thus excluded as the site of action.4. Infusion of morphine into the subarachnoid space just above the corpora quadrigemina or below the ventral surface of the brain stem produced hyperglycaemia. With these routes the morphine does not enter any part of the ventricular cavities and the action would appear to be on structures at the ventral surface of the brain stem.5. Injection of morphine into the cisterna magna produces hyperglycaemia when the doses are larger than those already effective on injection into the cerebral ventricles. This also suggests an action on structures at the ventral surface of the brain stem, as this surface is reached more readily from the ventricles than from the cisterna.6. It is concluded that on injection into the cerebral ventricles, the morphine has to pass into the subarachnoid space, through the foramina of Luschka, in order to produce hyperglycaemia. It then reaches the ventral surface of the brain stem and probably acts there on structures in the upper part of the medulla oblongata.7. Infusion of morphine into the corpora quadrigemina near the caudal end of the superior corpora can produce profound hypoglycaemia.8. Anaesthesia depresses the morphine hyperglycaemia, but when the dose injected into the cerebral ventricles is increased four times or more, hyperglycaemia is also produced in pentobarbitone sodium anaesthesia.