Brain research
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The anticonvulsant, trimethadione (TMO), was tested for effects on cholinergic responses to iontophoretic application of ACh on identified neurons in Aplysia. TMO (1--10 mM) depressed the amplitudes of depolarizing responses mediated by Na+ and hyperpolarizing responses mediated by Cl- but did not affect hyperpolarizing responses mediated by K+. Such a combination of effects on cholinergic responses distinguishes the action of this anti-absence drug from agents effective against tonic-clonic seizures and from convulsive drugs.
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This study demonstrates that capsaicin exerts a selective neurotoxic action to induce degeneration of glomerular C-type nerve terminals in adult rats. Since the C terminals may be essential components of the circuitry for modulation of pain, it is suggested that capsaicin induced analgesia is the result of this neurotoxic action.