Actions of norepinephrine on rat hypoglossal motoneurons

1. We used conventional intracellular recording techniques in 400-microns-thick slices from the brain stems of juvenile rats to investigate the action of norepinephrine (NE) on subthreshold and firing properties of hypoglossal motoneurons (HMs). 2. In recordings in current-clamp mode, 50 or 100 microM NE elicited a reversible depolarization accompanied by an increase in input resistance (RN) in all HMs tested (n = 74). In recordings in single-electrode voltage-clamp mode, NE induced a reversible inward current (INE) accompanied by a reduction in input conductance. The average reversal potential for INE was -104 mV. The NE responses could be elicited in a Ca(2+)-free solution containing tetrodotoxin, indicating that they were postsynaptic. 3. The NE response could be blocked by the alpha-adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin, but not by the beta-adrenoceptor antagonist propranolol, and could be mimicked by the alpha 1-adrenoceptor agonist phenylephrine but not by the alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist UK 14,304 or by the beta-adrenoceptor agonist isoproterenol when alpha-adrenoceptors were blocked. 4. Substitution of barium for calcium in the perfusion solution blocked the increase in RN in response to NE without completely blocking the depolarization. Replacement of sodium chloride with choline chloride in the barium-substituted perfusion solution blocked the remaining depolarization. 5. The neuropeptide thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), which also depolarizes and increases the RN of HMs, occluded the response of HMs to NE. 6. NE altered HM firing properties in three ways: it always lowered the minimum amount of injected current needed to elicit repetitive firing, it increased the slope of the firing frequency versus injected current relation in 8 of 14 cells tested, and it increased the delay from the onset of the depolarizing current pulse to the first evoked spike in all cells tested. 7. We conclude that NE acts directly on alpha 1-adrenoceptors to increase the excitability of HMs. It does this by reducing a barium-sensitive resting potassium current and activating a barium-insensitive inward current carried primarily by sodium ions. A portion of the intracellular pathway for these actions is shared by TRH. In addition, there is evidence that NE alters HM firing patterns by affecting currents that are activated following depolarization.