High doses of salicylate and aspirin are inhibitory on acid-sensing ion channels and protective against acidosis-induced neuronal injury in the rat cortical neuron.

Aspirin and its main metabolite salicylate are widely used to relieve pain, treat inflammatory diseases, and prevent ischemic stroke. Multiple pathways are responsible for the therapeutic actions exerted by these drugs. One of the pathways is targeting neuronal receptors/ion channels in the central nervous system.

Fluoxetine potentiates GABAergic IPSCs in rat hippocampal neurons.

The GABA system is highly involved in the pathophysiology of mood disorders such as depression. Altered GABAergic function is evident in depressed patients and animal models of depression. Currently, the most widely used antidepressants are selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitors, such as fluoxetine.

Sodium salicylate suppresses serotonin-induced enhancement of GABAergic spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents in rat inferior colliculus in vitro.

Available evidence suggests that sodium salicylate (SS) may produce tinnitus through altering the balance between inhibition and excitation in the central auditory system. Since serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) containing fibers preferentially innervate inhibitory GABA neurons, there exists a possibility that SS causes the imbalance between inhibition and excitation through influencing serotonergic modulation of the GABAergic synaptic transmission. In the present study, we examined the effects of SS on 5-HT-mediated GABAergic spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) from neurons of the central nucleus of rat inferior colliculus with whole-cell patch-clamp technique and brain slice preparation.

Amiloride attenuates glycine-induced currents in cultured neurons of rat inferior colliculus.

Amiloride, a potassium sparing diuretic, is well known to interact with many ion transport systems and modulate the activity of several membrane receptors. However, relatively little information is available as to how amiloride affects membrane receptors of neurons in the brain areas. In the present study, we investigated the effects of amiloride on glycine-induced currents (I(Gly)) in cultured neurons of rat inferior colliculus with whole-cell patch-clamp recordings.

Sodium salicylate reduces inhibitory postsynaptic currents in neurons of rat auditory cortex.

Sodium salicylate (SS) is a medicine for anti-inflammation and for chronic pain relief with a side effect of tinnitus. To understand the cellular mechanisms of tinnitus induced by SS in the central auditory system, we examined effects of SS on evoked and miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (eIPSCs and mIPSCs) recorded from layer II/III pyramidal neurons of rat auditory cortex in a brain slice preparation with whole-cell patch-clamp techniques. Both eIPSCs and mIPSCs recorded from the auditory cortex could be completely blocked by bicuculline, a selective GABA(A) receptor antagonist.

Modulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor function by thiopental in the rat spinal dorsal horn neurons.

To assess the actions of thiopental at the spinal dorsal horn level, we examined the effects of thiopental using the whole cell patch-clamp technique on mechanically dissociated rat spinal dorsal horn neurons. Thiopental, at large concentrations, elicited a current (I(Thio)) through activation of chloride conductance, and its threshold concentration was approximately 50 microM. I(Thio) was sensitive to bicuculline, a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)A receptor antagonist, but not to strychnine, a glycine receptor antagonist.

Taurine activates strychnine-sensitive glycine receptors in neurons of the rat inferior colliculus.

Taurine (Tau) is one of the most abundant free amino acids in the mammalian central nervous system. Whether the neurotransmission of the central auditory system is regulated or modulated by Tau is not clear. In the present study, we investigated the electrophysiological and pharmacological properties of Tau-activated currents in acutely dissociated neurons of the rat inferior colliculus (IC) using whole cell patch clamp recordings.