Dopaminergic modulation of spike activity in sensorimotor cortex neurons in a conditioned reflex

Changes in the spike conditioned reflex reactions of sensorimotor cortex neurons during microiontophoretic application of agonists and antagonists of glutamatergic and GABAergic transmission and their modulation by dopamine were studied. A paradoxical reaction is described, consisting of facilitation of spike responses evoked by antagonists of ionotropic glutamate transmission, which was blocked by GABA. This is evidence for the active involvement of inhibition in organizing the excitatory responses of neurons in the conditioned reflex. Application of the metabotropic glutamate transmission antagonist MCPG was accompanied by sharp suppression of the baseline and evoked activity of cortical neurons, along with increases in the latency of spike responses and conditioned reflex movement. Dopamine was found to reverse the effect of blocking metabotropic glutamate receptors and to normalize neuron activity, which is evidence for the stabilizing role of dopamine in the functioning of neocortical neurons.