Neuroscience
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Comparative Study
Brain activity patterns in flying, echolocating bats (Pteronotus parnellii): assessment by high resolution autoradiographic imaging with [3H]2-deoxyglucose.
Brain activity patterns during echolocation and flight were assessed in mustached bats (Pteronotus parnellii parnellii). Bats were injected intraperitoneally with [3H]2-deoxyglucose and restrained in a foam holder or allowed to fly for 20 min. Under resting conditions, low levels of [3H]2-deoxyglucose uptake were observed throughout the forebrain but relatively high uptake was found in brainstem auditory and vestibular centers. ⋯ The uptake of the metabolic marker was significantly more in the flying bats compared to the emitting-not-flying bats in the medial geniculate, superior colliculus, auditory cortex, cingulate cortex and thalamus. In the nucleus ambiguus, cochlear nucleus, and inferior colliculus, uptake was similar for the flying and emitting-not-flying bats. These results suggest that the high metabolic activity observed in forebrain auditory regions of flying bats is related in part to neural processes that involve sensory motor integration during flight and not simply the perception of acoustic information.
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Cataplexy in the narcoleptic canine has been shown to increase after systemic administration of cholinergic agonists. Furthermore, the number of cholinergic receptors in the pontine reticular formation of narcoleptic canines is significantly elevated. In the present study we have investigated the effects of cholinergic drugs administered directly into the pontine reticular formation on cataplexy, as defined by brief episodes of hypotonia induced by emotions, in narcoleptic canines. ⋯ These findings demonstrate that cataplexy in narcoleptic canines can be stimulated by applying cholinergic agonists directly into the pontine reticular formation. The ability of atropine to inhibit locally and systemically stimulated cataplexy indicates that the pontine reticular formation is a critical component in cholinergic stimulation of cataplexy. Therefore, it is suggested that the pontine reticular formation plays a significant role in the cholinergic regulation of narcolepsy.
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Cataplexy in the narcoleptic canine has been shown to increase after local administration of carbachol into the pontine reticular formation. Rapid eye movement sleep has also been shown to increase after local administration of carbachol in the pontine reticular formation, and furthermore, acetylcholine release in the pontine tegmentum was found to increase during rapid eye movement sleep in rats. Therefore, in the present study we have investigated acetylcholine release in the pontine reticular formation during cataplexy in narcoleptic canines. ⋯ Local perfusion with tetrodotoxin (10(-5) M) or artificial cerebrospinal fluid without Ca2+ produced a decrease, while intravenous injections of physostigmine (0.05 mg/kg) produced an increase in acetylcholine levels, indicating that the levels of acetylcholine levels measured are derived from neuronal release. During cataplexy induced by the Food-Elicited Cataplexy Test, acetylcholine levels increased by approximately 50% after four consecutive tests in narcoleptic canines, but did not change after four consecutive tests in control canines. Motor activity and feeding behavior, similar to that occurring during a Food-Elicited Cataplexy Test, had no effect on acetylcholine levels in the narcoleptic canines.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Supraoptic neurosecretory neurons express a prominent N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor system. Recent in vitro evidence reveals that N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation dramatically alters the spontaneous discharge patterns of supraoptic neurons. In this study we evaluate whether N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in vivo contribute to the development of characteristic phasic discharge patterns displayed by vasopressin-secreting neurons. ⋯ Ketamine had no detectable effect on threshold or shape of antidromic action potentials. By comparison, the activity in 9/10 continuously active neurons (putative oxytocin-secreting) was unaffected by administration of identical doses of ketamine. These data suggest that N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors play an important role in regulating the onset and maintenance of spontaneous phasic activity patterns displayed by rat supraoptic vasopressin neurons in vivo.
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A recent study has described synchronous burst discharges of dentate hilar neurons and area CA3 pyramidal cells in the presence of the convulsants 4-aminopyridine and picrotoxin in guinea-pig hippocampal slices [Müller W. and Misgeld U. (1991) J. Neurophysiol. 65, 141-147]. To examine the synchronous activity of dentate cells and area CA3 pyramidal cells further, epileptiform burst discharges were examined in morphologically and/or electrophysiologically identified non-granule cells in the hilus and granule cell layer of the rat dentate gyrus and compared to simultaneously-recorded pyramidal cells of area CA3a, b, and c. ⋯ These findings suggest that, in the absence of GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition, excitatory pathways from area CA3 to the dentate gyrus are strong and widespread. These pathways, and possibly other mechanisms, can lead to tightly synchronized action potential discharge of pyramidal cells and dentate non-granule cells. The results also suggest that disinhibition alone is insufficient to cause synchronous bursts in the dentate gyrus, in contrast to area CA3.