Potentiation of inhibitory synaptic transmission by extracellular ATP in rat suprachiasmatic nuclei

Abstract

The hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN), the circadian master clock in mammals, releases ATP in a rhythm. In this study, we examined the expression and function of ATP-gated P2X receptors (P2XRs) in the SCN neurons of rat brain slices.

Our data show that ATP activates presynaptic P2X2Rs to regulate inhibitory synaptic transmission within the SCN and that this effect varies between dorsomedial and ventrilateral SCN regions

Keywords

• suprachiasmatic nucleus
• P2X receptors
• P2Y receptors
• ATP
• GABA
• spontaneous inhibitory synaptic currents