Intracellular recording of lamina X neurons in a horizontal slice preparation of rat lumbar spinal cord.
A horizontal slice preparation of postnatal rat lumbar spinal cord has been developed which allows correlative observations of the morphology, electrophysiology, and receptor pharmacology of lamina X neurons. These slices better maintain afferent input and somatodendritic morphology and are amenable to subsequent immunohistochemical processing. Stable intracellular recordings obtained from postnatal day 14-45 animals reveal that a number of different intrinsic membrane conductances contribute to the regulation of excitability in lamina X neurons. In addition, lamina X neurons possess inhibitory GABAergic as well as excitatory glutamate and cholecystokinin receptors. This preparation will be useful in future studies designed to characterize developmental changes in the intrinsic membrane properties, synaptic profiles and neuropeptide responsiveness of lamina X neurons in the rat. Such a characterization is important given that lamina X represents a unique sexually dimorphic region that is a convergence site for somatic and visceral afferent inputs, which includes nociceptive information.
Phelan
K D
KD
Department of Anatomy/Slot 510 and Arkansas Center for Neuroscience, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 West Markham St., Little Rock, AR 72205-7199, USA. phelankevind@exchange.uams.edu
Newton
B W
BW
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D046508:Culture Techniques; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000379:methods*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008239:Lysine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D008839:Microelectrodes / Q000592:standards; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*
C013411:biocytin; D008239:Lysine