Abstract
Patterned spontaneous activity is generated in developing neuronal circuits in the brain and spinal cord. Here we test the hypothesis that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is released with spontaneous rhythmic neural discharge in the embryonic rat. The level of endogenous rhythmic discharge generated by in vitro brainstem-spinal cord preparations was increased from control by elevating extracellular potassium and decreased by tetrodotoxin or a cocktail of receptor antagonists. The concentration of BDNF in the bathing medium was detected via ELISA. BDNF levels were decreased by 45-65% in the presence of TTX or receptor antagonists and increased by 25% in elevated extracellular potassium. These data demonstrate that BDNF is released in association with an endogenous rhythmic activity generated by the developing CNS.
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