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，因为这是大脑中的一个区域，似乎与进入冬眠和从冬眠中唤醒有关。通过使用海马片制备，海马神经网络上沐浴溶液的温度可以很容易地精确设置，以匹配进入冬眠的动物中枢神经系统观察到的任何温度范围。其中一组实验的中心是温度对长时程增强(LTP)的影响。LTP作为探索哺乳动物大脑中学习和记忆机制的模型，吸引了神经科学家的想象力，但这些机制是否在大脑温度较低的情况下持续存在尚不清楚。5-羟色胺是一种神经递质，已被证明在动物进入冬眠的过程中发挥了作用。因此，第二组实验旨在确定温度对海马神经元5-羟色胺能反应的影响。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.