Summary
The fine structure and electrical activity were studied in thin brain sections prepared from the olfactory cortex of the guinea pig and incubated in vitro in standard and modified conditions. In the standard medium, the potential response was maintained with no marked changes for 4–5 hours and thereafter gradually decreased. The ultrastructure of the tissue was well preserved for the initial 2 hours of incubation. After incubation for 5 hours, many empty spaces were noted. Some dendritic stumps lost fine internal structure, but most of the synapses were apparently normal. Cyanide suppressed the potential response, and caused swelling of the nerve terminals and a decrease in the number of synaptic vesicles. The recovery of the response in the standard medium was not accompanied by a full restoration in the fine structure. If slices were incubated in the absence of glucose and oxygen, with cyanide in glucose-free medium, or at a low temperature, the potential response was irreversibly depressed. In these slices, numerous wide spaces of low electron density were noted which were concluded to have been derived, at least partly, from the swollen dendrites.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ames III, A., Gurian, B.S.: Measurement of function in an in vitro preparation of central nervous tissue. J. Neurophysiol. 23, 676–691 (1960).
Biekenbach, M.A., Stevens, C.F.: Electrical activity in cat olfactory cortex produced by synchronous orthodromic volley. J. Neurophysiol. 32, 193–203 (1969).
Cohen, M.M., Hartmann, J.F.: Biochemical and ultrastructural correlates of cerebral cortex slices metabolizing in vitro, pp. 57–74. Ed. by M.M. Cohen and R. S. Snider, New York: Harper & Row 1964.
Eccles, J.C.: The physiology of Synapses, pp. 27–53. New York: Academic Press Inc. 1964.
Gerschenfeld, H.M., Wald, F., Zadunaisky, J.A., De Robertis, E.D.P.: Function of astroglia in the water-ion metabolism of the central nervous system. Neurology 9, 412–425 (1959).
Luft, J.H.: Improvements in epoxy resin embedding methods. J. biophys. biochem. Cytol. 9, 409–414 (1961).
Marks, N., McIlwain, H.: Loss of excitability in isolated cerebral tissues, and its restoration by naturally occurring materials. Biochem. J. 73, 401–410 (1959).
McIlwain, H.: Protein interactions and metabolic response to stimulating agents in isolated cerebral tissues; Histones as inhibitors. Biochem. J. 73, 514–521 (1959).
—: Characterization of naturally occurring materials which restore excitability to isolated cerebral tissues. Biochem. J. 78, 24–32 (1961).
—: Chemical Exploration of the Brain, pp. 1–47. Amsterdam: Elsevier Pub. Co. 1963.
—, Rodnight, R.: Practical Neurochemistry, pp. 109–120. London: Churchill 1962.
Richards, C.D., Sercombe, R.: Electrical activity observed in guinea-pig olfactory cortex maintained in vitro. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 197, 667–683 (1968).
Wanko, T., Tower, D.B.: Combined morphological and biochemical studies of incubated slices of cerebral cortex, pp. 75–97. Ed. by M.M. Cohen and R.S. Snider. New York: Harper & Row 1964.
Webster, H. DeF., Ames III, A.: Reversible and irreversible changes in the fine structure of nervous tissue during oxygen and glucose deprivation. J. Cell Biol. 26, 885–909 (1965).
Wolfe, L.S., McIlwain, H.: Migration of histones from the nuclei of isolated cerebral tissues kept in cold media. Biochem. J. 78, 33–40 (1961).
Yamamoto, C., Kurokawa, M.: Synaptic potentials recorded in brain slices and their modification by changes in the level of tissue ATP. Exp. Brain Res. 10, 159–170 (1970).
—, McIlwain, H.: Electrical activities in thin sections from the mammalian brain maintained in chemically-defined media in vitro. J. Neurochem. 13, 1333–1343 (1966).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Dedicated to Professor Toshihiko Tokizane on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yamamoto, C., Bak, I.J. & Kurokawa, M. Ultrastructural changes associated with reversible and irreversible suppression of electrical activity in olfactory cortex slices. Exp Brain Res 11, 360–372 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00237909
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00237909