title: Effects of low concentrations of 4-aminopyridine on CA1 pyramidal cells of the hippocampus.
abstract: 1. Intracellular and extracellular recording techniques were used to study the effects of bath application of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) on pyramidal cells of the CA1 subfield of rat hippocampal slices maintained in vitro. The concentration of 4-AP used in most experiments was 50 microM. However, similar results were obtained with a concentration ranging from 5 to 100 microM. 2. Following 4-AP application, cells impaled with K-acetate-filled microelectrodes hyperpolarized by an average of 2.6 mV (from -68.7 to -71.3 mV, P less than or equal to 0.01). This change was accompanied by the appearance of high-frequency spontaneous hyperpolarizations. Conversely, when KCl-filled microelectrodes were used, an average depolarization of 5.8 mV [from -73.1 to -67.3 mV, not significant (NS)] associated with the occurrence of repetitive depolarizing potentials was observed. In both cases, these changes were concomitant with a small decrease in membrane input resistance, which was statistically significant only for cells impaled with K-acetate-filled microelectrodes. When synaptic transmission was blocked by tetrodotoxin (TTX), 4-AP induced in cells studied with K-acetate microelectrodes an average depolarization of 2.4 mV (from -62.8 to -60.4 mV, P less than or equal to 0.01) accompanied by a small increase in input resistance (from 32.0 to 35.8 M omega, P less than or equal to 0.05). High-frequency spontaneous potentials failed to occur under these conditions. During 4-AP application, the threshold and the latency of action potentials elicited by a depolarizing current pulse increased in 36% of the neurons studied (n = 14). 3. The amplitude of the stratum (s.) radiatum-induced excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) was augmented by 4-AP. Both the early and late inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) evoked by orthodromic stimuli were also increased in amplitude and duration. In addition, a late (peak latency, 150-600 ms) and long-lasting (duration, 600-1,500 ms) depolarizing potential appeared between the early and the late IPSPs and progressively increased until it partially masked these hyperpolarizations. This long-lasting depolarization (LLD) could also be induced by antidromic stimulation, although in this case it was preceded by an additional, fast-rising, brief depolarization. 4. A similar brief depolarization preceded the orthodromically induced LLD in 69% of the neurons bathed in the presence of 4-AP. The average value of the peak latency of this potential was 62 +/- 27 (SD) ms for orthodromic and 110 +/- 70 ms for antidromic responses.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Montreal Neurological Institute, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Perreault
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Avoli
mesh_terms: D015761:4-Aminopyridine; D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000631:Aminopyridines / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001640:Bicuculline / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013569:Synapses / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013779:Tetrodotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000631:Aminopyridines; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; C017069:bicuculline methiodide; D013779:Tetrodotoxin; D015761:4-Aminopyridine; D001640:Bicuculline