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Presynaptic serotonergic modulation of spontaneous and miniature synaptic activity in frog lumbar motoneurons

  • Comparative and Ontogenic Physiology
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Abstract

The effects of serotonin (5-HT, 30 μM) on spontaneous and miniature synaptic activity in lumbar motoneurons from the isolated Rana ridibunda spinal cord were investigated using intracellular recording. 5-HT increased the frequency of spontaneous (sPSPs) and miniature postsynaptic potentials (mPSPs). The effect of 5-HT on different subpopulations of mPSPs was multidirectional: it increased the frequency of glutamatergic excitatory mPSPs by 18% and decreased the frequency of glycinergic inhibitory mPSPs by 28%, but had no effect on the frequency of GABAergic inhibitory mPSPs. The amplitude and kinetic parameters of any subpopulation of mPSPs did not change. The data obtained show that 5-HT regulates the probability of glutamate and glycine release from the presynaptic terminals ending at frog spinal motoneurons. 5-HT shifts the balance between synaptic excitation and inhibition in the spinal neural network toward excitation. Thus, 5-HT participates in control of motor output and provides its facilitation.

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Abbreviations

AMPA:

α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid

D-AP5:

D-2-amino-pentanoic acid

EPSP:

excitatory postsynaptic potential

IPSP:

inhibitory postsynaptic potential

sPSP:

spontaneous postsynaptic potential

mPSP:

miniature postsynaptic potential

GABA:

γ-aminobutyric acid

KA:

kainic acid

MP:

membrane potential

NMDA:

N-methyl-D-aspartate

AP:

action potential

TTX:

tetrodotoxin

5-HT:

5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia

    N. I. Kalinina, G. G. Kurchavyi, A. V. Zaitsev & N. P. Veselkin

  2. St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia

    N. P. Veselkin

Authors
  1. N. I. Kalinina
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  2. G. G. Kurchavyi
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  3. A. V. Zaitsev
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  4. N. P. Veselkin
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Correspondence to N. I. Kalinina.

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Original Russian Text © N.I. Kalinina, G.G. Kurchavyi, A.V. Zaitsev, N.P. Veselkin, 2016, published in Zhurnal Evolyutsionnoi Biokhimii i Fiziologii, 2016, Vol. 52, No. 5, pp. 328—336.

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Kalinina, N.I., Kurchavyi, G.G., Zaitsev, A.V. et al. Presynaptic serotonergic modulation of spontaneous and miniature synaptic activity in frog lumbar motoneurons. J Evol Biochem Phys 52, 359–368 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0022093016050045

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0022093016050045

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