Kainic acid neurotoxiocity in granuloprival cerebellar cultures

Granuloprival cerebellar cultures devoid of cortical presynaptic glutamatergic fibers were exposed to nutrient medium incorporating either 10(-3) M D-glutamic acid or 10(-4) M kainic acid. No changes were evident in cultures exposed to the former, while cortical neurons were destroyed in kainate-treated explants. These results suggest that kainic acid neurotoxic effects can be manifested in the absence of glutamatergic afferent fibers.