Extracellular potassium, glial and neuronal potentials in the solitary complex of rat brainstem slices

Extracellular K+ activities (aKe) and neuronal and glial membrane potentials were recorded in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) and in the dorsal vagal motor nucleus (DVMN) of rat brainstem slices after orthodromic stimulation of the tractus solitarius (TS). In glial cells, repetitive stimulation of the TS induced depolarizations of up to 30 mV followed by repolarizations which were fitted by exponential curves with a time constant of 1.6-5 s. Similar stimulations induced elevations of aKe of up to 8 mM, the recovery of which was fitted by single exponential curves with a time constant ranging between 1.6 and 4 s. These elevations in aKe were reduced by 75% during blockage of synaptic transmission in low Ca2+, high Mg2+ solution, and by 24% with application of 6-cyano-7-nitro-quinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX, 50 microM). Perfusion with a low Mg2+ solution increased the aKe response to stimulation of the TS, an effect that was reduced by the addition of 2-amino-5-phosphono-valeric acid (AP7, 50 microM) to the bath. No significant change in aKe and glial potential was seen when superfusing high concentrations of the C-terminal octapeptide of cholecystokinin (CCK8, 1-5 microM) and C-terminal tetrapeptide (CCK4, 50-100 microM). The effect of TS stimulations on solitary complex neurons suggests that extracellular K+ concentration is increased during synaptic activation of non-NMDA or NMDA ionotropic receptors. Conversely, slow depolarizations elicited by repetitive afferent activity or excitation by CCK agonists develop in neurons in the absence of measurable extracellular K+ fluctuations or glial depolarization.