title: Ineffectiveness of organic calcium channel blockers in antagonizing long-term potentiation.
abstract: Evidence has accumulated suggesting that the presence of calcium is critical for development of hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP). However, there is a paucity of information about whether calcium's role in LTP is pre- or postsynaptic. In the present study, we examined the effectiveness of nitrendipine, verapamil, flunarizine and the benzodiazepine diazepam in: blocking voltage-dependent calcium channels; blocking synaptic transmission; and preventing development of LTP. Using the in vitro slice preparation, we obtained intracellular and extracellular recordings from guinea pig hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells. At the cellular level, all 4 drugs were ineffective in blocking voltage-dependent calcium spikes (TTX resistant) and the calcium-dependent afterhyperpolarization. Verapamil and diazepam appeared to antagonize synaptic transmission, as reflected in smaller population spike amplitudes. Development of long-term potentiation was not affected by the presence of verapamil, flunarizine and diazepam. Nitrendipine appeared to reduce the percentage of slices exhibiting LTP; however, ethanol, the vehicle used to dissolve nitrendipine, was shown in separate experiments to reduce the percentage of slices exhibiting LTP. These results suggest that neither the organic calcium channel blockers--nitrendipine, verapamil, and flunarizine--nor micromolar concentrations of diazepam are potent blockers of extrasynaptic voltage-sensitive calcium channels in hippocampus. They thus cannot be used to demonstrate a specific pre- or postsynaptic calcium role in LTP.
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002936:Cinnarizine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D003975:Diazepam / Q000494:pharmacology; D005444:Flunarizine; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009543:Nifedipine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D009568:Nitrendipine; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects*; D014700:Verapamil / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D002936:Cinnarizine; D009568:Nitrendipine; D014700:Verapamil; D009543:Nifedipine; D003975:Diazepam; D005444:Flunarizine