Three-independent-compartment chamber to study in vitro commissural synapses.
We describe a novel chamber in which the two intact neonatal rat hippocampi and the commissural fibers are placed in three independent compartments separated by latex membranes and perfused selectively with different solutions. A set of control tests showed that the compartments are well isolated: 1) methylene blue or eosin applied to one compartment did not diffuse to other compartments when verified via the microscope, and spectrophotometry revealed that <1/10.000th of the dye diffuses to other compartments; 2) tetrodotoxin (1 microM) applied to the commissural compartment blocked the synaptic responses evoked contralaterally without affecting those evoked on the ipsilateral side. This chamber enables a wide range of experiments that cannot be performed in conventional chambers, e.g., to study the maturation and plasticity of the commissural connections, bilateral synchronization of the rhythmic activities in the limbic system, commissural propagation of the epileptiform activities, etc.
Khazipov
R
R
Centre de Recherches sur l'Epilepsie et l'Ischémie Cérébrale, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U29, 123 Bd de Port-Royal, Paris 75674, France.
Desfreres
L
L
Khalilov
I
I
Ben-Ari
Y
Y
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D046508:Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS) / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D007840:Latex; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008751:Methylene Blue / Q000378:metabolism; D010477:Perfusion; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D013779:Tetrodotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology
D007840:Latex; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D013779:Tetrodotoxin; D008751:Methylene Blue; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS)