Connexin hemichannels contribute to spontaneous electrical activity in the human fetal cortex.

ABSTRACT: Before the human cortex is able to process sensory information, young postmitotic neurons must maintain occasional bursts of action-potential firing to attract and keep synaptic contacts, to drive gene expression, and to transition to mature membrane properties. Before birth, human subplate (SP) neurons are spontaneously active, displaying bursts of electrical activity (plateau depolarizations with action potentials). Using whole-cell recordings in acute cortical slices, we investigated the source of this early activity. The spontaneous depolarizations in human SP neurons at midgestation (17-23 gestational weeks) were not completely eliminated by tetrodotoxin--a drug that blocks action potential firing and network activity--or by antagonists of glutamatergic, GABAergic, or glycinergic syna

SUBMITTER: Moore AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4169969 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature