A novel spinal cord slice preparation from the rat

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Physiology

Background:

• Studying spinal cord function in vivo presents challenges.
• In vitro preparations are crucial for detailed cellular and synaptic analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a new in vitro spinal cord slice preparation for studying neuronal activity.
• To demonstrate the viability and utility of this preparation for electrophysiological recordings.

Main Methods:

• Lumbar spinal cord segments from weanling rats were isolated and sectioned into 400-micron slices.
• Slices were maintained in a perfused tissue chamber under controlled gas and artificial cerebrospinal fluid conditions.
• Extracellular recordings were performed on dorsal horn lamina IV cells.

Main Results:

• The spinal cord slices remained viable for over 8 hours.
• Stable extracellular recordings from single cells were achieved for 2 hours or more.
• Excitatory amino acid antagonists showed effects consistent with in vivo adult spinal cord studies.

Conclusions:

• This in vitro spinal cord slice preparation is a viable model for studying neuronal function.
• The preparation facilitates stable extracellular and potentially intracellular recordings of spinal cord neurons.
• It offers a valuable tool for investigating excitatory amino acid actions in the spinal cord.