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Preparation of Acute Brain Slices Using an Optimized N-Methyl-D-glucamine Protective Recovery Method

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State-dependent, bidirectional modulation of neural network activity by endocannabinoids.

Richard Piet¹, André Garenne, Fanny Farrugia

¹Neurocentre Magendie INSERM U862, 33077 Bordeaux Cedex, France. richard.piet@otago.ac.nz

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience

|November 18, 2011

Summary

The endocannabinoid system

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Neurophysiology
Molecular Biology

Background:

The endocannabinoid (eCB) system and cannabinoid CB1 receptor (CB1R) are crucial for brain function.
While synaptic roles are known, their network-level modulation remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of CB1R activation in modulating cortical neural network activity in vitro.
To understand how CB1R signaling impacts spontaneous electrical activity at the network level.

Main Methods:

Utilized microelectrode arrays to record electrical activity from rat and mice cortical neural networks.
Examined the effects of exogenous CB1R activation and antagonism on network activity.

Main Results:

Exogenous CB1R activation on glutamatergic neurons reduced spontaneous cortical network activity.
CB1R antagonist AM251's effect was state-dependent, increasing activity at low basal levels and decreasing it at high levels.

Conclusions:

CB1Rs play a complex role in shaping spontaneous neural network activity.
The impact of endogenous neuromodulation via CB1Rs on network function is state-dependent.