GABA withdrawal modifies network activity in cultured hippocampal neurons.
Dissociated hippocampal neurons, grown in culture for 2 to 3 weeks, tended to fire bursts of synaptic currents at fairly regular intervals, representing network activity. A brief exposure of cultured neurons to GABA caused a total suppression of the spontaneous network activity. Following a washout of GABA, the activity was no longer clustered in bursts and instead, the cells fired at a high rate tonic manner. The effect of removing GABA could be seen as long as 1 to 2 days after GABA withdrawal and is expressed as an increase in the number of active cells in a network, as well as in their firing rates. Such striking effects of GABA removal may underlie part of the GABA withdrawal syndrome seen elsewhere.
Golan
H
H
Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Mikenberg
K
K
Greenberger
V
V
Segal
M
M
D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004594:Electrophysiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013997:Time Factors; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000009:adverse effects*
D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid