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Excitatory–inhibitory imbalance in hypoglossal neurons during the critical period of postnatal development in the rat
Author(s) -
Gao Xiuping,
Liu Qingsong,
Liu Qiuli,
WongRiley Margaret T. T.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jphysiol.2010.198945
Subject(s) - excitatory postsynaptic potential , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , period (music) , silent period , neuroscience , biology , medicine , stimulation , physics , transcranial magnetic stimulation , acoustics
Non‐technical summary Previously, our laboratory has reported that within a narrow window toward the end of the second postnatal week in a rat's life, many sudden neurochemical and functional changes occurred that rendered the animal less responsive to decreased oxygen supply. The present study extends these findings to the recordings of single nerve cells and documents that, during this critical period of normal postnatal respiratory network development, the responses to excitation are significantly reduced and those to inhibition are significantly enhanced. Thus, the system is under greater inhibitory influence at this time. These findings may have significant implication for understanding sudden infant death syndrome, whose victims are seemingly normal infants with no known pathologies. The peak incidence of SIDS is not at birth, but between the second and fourth months after birth, a theoretical critical period of postnatal respiratory development.