Alcohol potently modulates climbing fiber-->Purkinje neuron synapses: role of metabotropic glutamate receptors.

ABSTRACT: Consumption of alcoholic beverages produces alterations in motor coordination and equilibrium that are responsible for millions of accidental deaths. Studies indicate that ethanol produces these alterations by affecting the cerebellum, a brain region involved in the control of motor systems. Purkinje neurons of the cerebellar cortex have been shown to be particularly important targets of ethanol. However, its mechanism of action at these neurons is poorly understood. We hypothesized that ethanol could modulate Purkinje neuron function by altering the excitatory input provided by the climbing fiber from the inferior olive, which evokes a powerful all-or-none response denoted as the complex spike. To test this hypothesis, we performed whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiological and Ca2+ imag

SUBMITTER: Carta M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6674936 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature