Hippocampal NMDA/phencyclidine receptor binding sites are reduced following forebrain ischaemia in the gerbil

The binding of [3H]N-(1-[2-thienyl]cyclohexyl)piperidine (TCP) to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor sites in synaptic membranes prepared from the dorsal hippocampus of the ischaemic gerbil, has been studied. Forebrain ischaemia was induced by 10 min bilateral carotid occlusion and receptor binding determined in the dorsal hippocampus 1 week later. [3H]TCP binding capacity was significantly reduced by 28% in ischaemic tissue with no change in affinity. This result is consistent with the involvement of NMDA receptors in ischaemic brain damage.