The effect of the nootropic drug oxiracetam on hippocampal neurotransmission was investigated in the CA1 region of the rat hippocampal slice in vitro by use of extracellular recordings. Superfusion of oxiracetam (0.1-100 μM) produced a concentration-dependent, wash-resistant (>90 min), increase in initial slope and amplitude of the dendritic field excitatory postsynaptic potential (e.p.s.p.). This increase was maximal at a concentration of 1 μM (70%). Input-output curves relating the initial slope to the amplitude of the afferent volley were significantly (P < 0.05) steeper and showed a greater maximal response in the presence of 1 μM oxiracetam than in control conditions. Two trains of high frequency stimulation (100 Hz, 0.4 s, 5 min apart) delivered in the striatum radiatum 30 min after washout of oxiracetam (1 μM) still elicited a long-term potentiation (LTP) of the field e.p.s.p. However, the absolute magnitude of the LTP produced did not differ from that obtained in untreated slices. After induction and establishment of LTP, oxiracetam (1 μM) had a smaller (27%) and reversible effect on the evoked field e.p.s.p. D-2-Amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (AP-5), at the same concentration (50 μM) which in our conditions prevented the induction of LTP, blocked the action of 1 μM oxiracetam and strongly depressed the effect of higher concentrations of the nootropic drug. It is concluded that oxiracetam provokes an enduring increase of neurotransmission in the CA1 rat hippocampal region. This action appears to share some features with LTP as indicated by its persistence, sensitivity to AP-5 and lack of additivity with electrically-induced LTP.

Effect of the nootropic drug Oxiracetam on field potentials of rat hippocampal slices / Pugliese, A. M.; Corradetti, R.; Ballerini, L.; Pepeu, G.. - In: BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY. - ISSN 0007-1188. - 99:1(1990), pp. 189-193. [10.1111/j.1476-5381.1990.tb14676.x]

Effect of the nootropic drug Oxiracetam on field potentials of rat hippocampal slices.

Ballerini, L.;
1990-01-01

Abstract

The effect of the nootropic drug oxiracetam on hippocampal neurotransmission was investigated in the CA1 region of the rat hippocampal slice in vitro by use of extracellular recordings. Superfusion of oxiracetam (0.1-100 μM) produced a concentration-dependent, wash-resistant (>90 min), increase in initial slope and amplitude of the dendritic field excitatory postsynaptic potential (e.p.s.p.). This increase was maximal at a concentration of 1 μM (70%). Input-output curves relating the initial slope to the amplitude of the afferent volley were significantly (P < 0.05) steeper and showed a greater maximal response in the presence of 1 μM oxiracetam than in control conditions. Two trains of high frequency stimulation (100 Hz, 0.4 s, 5 min apart) delivered in the striatum radiatum 30 min after washout of oxiracetam (1 μM) still elicited a long-term potentiation (LTP) of the field e.p.s.p. However, the absolute magnitude of the LTP produced did not differ from that obtained in untreated slices. After induction and establishment of LTP, oxiracetam (1 μM) had a smaller (27%) and reversible effect on the evoked field e.p.s.p. D-2-Amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (AP-5), at the same concentration (50 μM) which in our conditions prevented the induction of LTP, blocked the action of 1 μM oxiracetam and strongly depressed the effect of higher concentrations of the nootropic drug. It is concluded that oxiracetam provokes an enduring increase of neurotransmission in the CA1 rat hippocampal region. This action appears to share some features with LTP as indicated by its persistence, sensitivity to AP-5 and lack of additivity with electrically-induced LTP.
1990
99
1
189
193
10.1111/j.1476-5381.1990.tb14676.x
Pugliese, A. M.; Corradetti, R.; Ballerini, L.; Pepeu, G.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11767/11719
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