Abstract
The role of the reticular thalamic nucleus (RTN) in pacing rhythmic cortical activities subserving spike-waves (SW) discharges has been investigated in rats. Intracellular recordings from thalamic slices in vitro demonstrated that RTN neurons from control animals possess a set of Ca2+/K+ membrane conductances which enable them to produce rhythmic oscillatory activities. In vivo, studies of Ca2+-conductance blockade by intrathalamic injections of Cd2+ were performed on 24 callosotomized Wistar rats displaying spontaneous SW discharges, bred at the Centre de Neurochimie, Strasbourg. A significant decrement in ipsilateral SW activity was consistently observed in all RTN-injected animals 40 min after Cd2+ injection. By contrast, animals which received Cd2+ injection into the ventroposterior complex (VP) showed only small changes in ipsilateral SW. It is concluded that Ca2+-dependent oscillatory properties of the RTN are critical for the expression of genetically determined SW discharges in the Wistar model.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 85-95 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of Neural Transmission, Supplement |
Issue number | 35 |
Publication status | Published - 1992 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience(all)