Postural synergies were triggered in response to the auditory cue even 15 min post-conditioning. Furthermore, conditioned PRs were quickly extinguished as participants

became unresponsive by the third trial in extinction. In conclusion, our results reveal that the CNS does not require sensory feedback from postural perturbations in order to trigger PRs. (C) 2009 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Glutamine plays multiple roles in the CNS, including metabolic functions and production of the neurotransmitters glutamate and GABA. It has been proposed to be taken up into neurons via a variety of membrane transport systems, including system A, which is a sodium-dependent electrogenic amino acid transporter system. In this study, we investigate glutamine transport by application of amino acids to individual Go6983 principal neurons of the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB) in acutely isolated rat brain slices. A glutamine transport current was studied in patch-clamped neurons, which had the electrical

and pharmacological properties of system A: it was sodium-dependent, had a nonreversing current-voltage relationship, was activated by proline, occluded by N-(methylamino)isobutyric acid (MeAIB), and was unaffected by 2-aminobicyclo-[2.2.1]-heptane-2-carboxylic acid (BCH). Additionally, we examined the expression of different system A transporter isoforms using immunocytochemical Tobramycin staining with antibodies raised against system A transporter Sirolimus I and 2 (SAT1 and SAT2). Our results indicate that both isoforms are expressed in MNTB principal neurons, and demonstrate that functional system A transporters are present in the plasma membrane of neurons. Since system A transport is highly regulated by a number of cellular signaling mechanisms and glutamine then goes on to activate other pathways, the study of these transporters in situ gives an indication of the mechanisms of neuronal glutamine supply as well as points of regulation of neurotransmitter production,

cellular signaling and metabolism in the native neuronal environment. (C) 2009 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Neurons in the chicken nucleus laminaris (NL), the third order auditory nucleus involved in azimuth sound localization, receive bilaterally segregated (ipsilateral vs contralateral) glutamatergic excitation from the cochlear nucleus magnocellularis and GABAergic inhibition from the ipsilateral superior olivary nucleus (SON). Here, I investigate the voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) that trigger the excitatory and the inhibitory transmission in the NL. Whole-cell recordings were performed in acute brainstem slices. The excitatory transmission was predominantly mediated by N-type VGCCs, as the specific N-type blocker omega-Conotoxin-GVIA (omega-CTx-GVIA, 1-2.