title: NMDA receptor clustering in rat prefrontal cortex revealed by in vitro calcium macroimaging.
abstract: Living coronal brain slices were prepared from the rat prefrontal cortex (pFC) to determine the topographical distribution of the functional calcium-permeable N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor in vitro using calcium macroimage analysis with fura-2 AM. NMDA (0.25, 0.5, 1 or 2 x 10(-4) M for 30 s) bath application showed a dose-dependent [Ca2+]i increase from the steady-state level in several portions selected from the whole hemisphere slice. This regional response was suppressed by D-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (10(-4)M) and reinforced by glycine coperfusion (5 x 10(-6) M). Image analysis showed that the cluster responsive to NMDA lay locally on the medial or lateral pFC even in the presence of tetrodotoxin.
authors.affiliation: Neuroinformatics Laboratoriy, National Institute of Bioscience and Human-Technology, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takita
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yokoi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mizuno
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D002118:Calcium