title: Facilitation of miniature GABAergic currents by chlorpromazine in cultured rat hippocampal cells.
abstract: The whole cell configuration of the patch clamp technique was used to study the effects of chlorpromazine (CPZ), a widely used antipsychotic drug, on miniature GABAA-mediated synaptic currents (mIPSCs) in hippocampal cells in culture. CPZ (10-30 microM) induced a clear dose-dependent increase of mIPSCs frequency that was associated with a decrease in amplitude and with an acceleration of their decay kinetics. When applied in a calcium-free medium, CPZ was less effective in enhancing mIPSCs frequency, suggesting that this effect was partially calcium dependent. While a low (10 microM) CPZ concentration induced a 2-fold increase in the total charge transfer a higher (30 microM) dose of this drug produced no changes, indicating that the presynaptic effect was counterbalanced by the postsynaptic one.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Program, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Mozrzymas
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barberis
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cherubini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002746:Chlorpromazine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D005110:Extracellular Space / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D002118:Calcium; D002746:Chlorpromazine