Abstract
Neurons in the nucleus magnocellularis (nMAG) of the chicken precisely transmit auditory nerve activity via glutamatergic synapses. Using techniques for rapid application of solutions, we have explored the properties of CNQX-sensitive glutamate receptors in whole cells and outside-out patches from the nMAG. Glutamate-evoked current in patches desensitized biphasically to less than 1% of the peak current, with a fast time constant of 960 μs at 22°C, decreasing to 570 μs at 33°C. Dose-response studies using kainate indicated that at least two agonist molecules bind to gate the channel. We propose a kinetic model that quantitatively describes our experimental observations. The rapid kinetics of this receptor are well suited to allow phase locking of synaptic signals to auditory stimuli.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 173-186 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Neuron |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 1992 |
Funding
We wish to thank Drs. R. Fettiplace, M. Jackson, and D. Oertel for helpful comments and Dr. Chris Lingle for supplying us with BINFITS and MODEL. This work was supported by NS 28901 and the Deafness Research Foundation. L. 0. T. is a Sloan Fellow. I. M. R. is an NSFand Cremer Fellow. Wewould also liketo thank the Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Foundation for support.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience