[Effects of binocular form deprivation on the properties of gamma-aminobutyric acid currents of rat visual cortical neurons].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of binocular form deprivation on the properties of inhibitory synaptic transmission of rat visual cortical neurons during the critical period of visual development.


METHODS
We recorded the postsynaptic currents in visual cortex slices of normal, binocular form deprived and deprivation-removed rats at postnatal days 14, 21 and 28 with the use of whole-cell patch recording, and recorded gamma-aminobutyric acid currents by adding D, L-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (50 micromol/L) and 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (20 micromol/L) to artificial cerebrospinal fluid. The electrophysiological properties were also analysed.


RESULTS
The decay time and peak value of inhibitory postsynaptic currents of normal rat visual cortical neurons became larger with age (P < 0.05), but not in binocular form deprived group (P > 0.05). The decay time and peak value of inhibitory postsynaptic currents became large in deprivation-removed rats at postnatal days 28 (P < 0.05). The rise time did not change markedly in all groups.


CONCLUSIONS
With visual development, the synaptic transmission of visual cortical neurons in normal rats is strengthened, but it can be inhibited by binocular form deprivation and recovered by visual input.
Qin
Wei
W
Southwest Eye Hospital, Third Military University, Chongqing 400038, China.
Yin
Zheng-qin
ZQ
Wang
Shi-jun
SJ
Zhao
Yan-jun
YJ
D000818:Animals; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D018079:Receptors, GABA / Q000502:physiology*; D012683:Sensory Deprivation / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*; D015348:Vision, Binocular / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*
D018079:Receptors, GABA