Thermal Dependence of Electrical Activity in the Hamster Hippocampal Slice

约翰·霍洛维茨博士正在继续进行一系列实验，旨在了解冬眠背后的神经活动。他正在研究海马体，因为海马体是大脑的一个区域，似乎与进入冬眠和从冬眠中唤醒有关。通过使用海马切片制备，可以很容易地精确设置沐浴液在海马神经网络上的温度，以匹配动物进入冬眠时中枢神经系统观察到的任何温度范围。一组实验集中于温度对长期增强（LTP）的影响。LTP作为研究哺乳动物大脑学习和记忆机制的一个模型，引起了神经科学家的广泛关注，但这些机制是否在低脑温度下持续存在尚不清楚。血清素，一种神经递质，已经被证明在动物进入冬眠的过程中发挥作用。因此，第二组实验旨在确定温度对海马神经元血清素反应的影响。这项工作很重要，因为它将让我们更深入地了解大脑在低温状态下是如何调节和运作的。

Dr. John Horowitz is continuing a line of experimentation which is designed to understand the neural activity underlying hibernation. He is studying the hippocampus because it is a region of the brain that appears to be involved in the entrance into and arousal from hibernation. By using the hippocampal slice preparation, the temperature of the bathing solution over the hippocampal neural network can be easily precisely set to match any temperature in the range observed in the CNS of animals entering hibernation. One set of experiments centers on the effect of temperature on long-term potentiation (LTP). LTP has captured the imagination of neuroscientists as a model with which to probe the mechanisms of learning and memory in the mammalian brain, but whether these mechanisms persist at low brain temperatures is unknown. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, has been shown to play a role in an animal's entrance into hibernation. Therefore, the second set of experiments if to determine the effect of temperature on the serotonergic response of hippocampal neurons. This work is important because it will give us more insight into how the brain regulates and operates during low temperature states.