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Retinogeniculate EPSPs recorded intracellularly in the ferret lateral geniculate nucleus in vitro: Role of NMDA receptors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

Manuel Esguerra ,
Young H. Kwon  and
Mriganka Sur
Manuel Esguerra
Affiliation:
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
Young H. Kwon
Affiliation:
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
Mriganka Sur
Affiliation:
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
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Abstract

We used an in vitro preparation of the ferret lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) to examine the role of the NMDA class of excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptors in retinogeniculate transmission. Intracellular recordings revealed that blockade of NMDA receptors both shortened the time course and reduced the amplitude of fast and slow components of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) evoked by optic tract stimulation. The amplitude and width of the EPSPs mediated by NMDA receptors increased as membrane potential was depolarized towards spike threshold. Individual LGN cells were influenced to varying extents by blockade of NMDA receptors; NMDA and non-NMDA receptor blockade together attenuated severely the entire retinogeniculate EPSP. The dependence of all components of retinogeniculate EPSPs (and action potentials) on NMDA receptor activation supports the hypothesis that the NMDA receptor participates in fast (<10 ms) synaptic events underlying conventional retinogeniculate transmission. The voltage dependence of the NMDA receptor-gated conductance suggests strongly that the transmission of retinal information through the LGN is subject to modulation by extraretinal inputs that affect the membrane potential of LGN neurons.

Keywords

Excitatory amino acidsRetinogeniculate transmissionFerretLateral geniculate nucleusNMDA receptor
Type
Research Articles
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 8 , Issue 6 , June 1992 , pp. 545 - 555
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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