Figure 2

Effect of electrical stimulation and 35 mM K⁺ on intracellular Ca²⁺ signals in substantia gelatinosa neurons. A. Confocal image of fluo-4 filled neurons in substantia gelatinosa region of organotypic culture B. Second image of the same field as A after challenging with 35 mM K⁺. Note increased fluorescence intensity indicative of increases in intracellular Ca²⁺. C. Responses to a series of 5 sec 50 Hz stimuli (100 μS pulse width) to the dorsal root entry zone (S1 - S8) delivered at 5 minute intervals. Staggered traces show responses from two different neurons. Note despite the variability, responses S5 and S6 displayed fairly consistent amplitudes. These two responses were used for further comparisons. D. Typical S5 and S6 responses sampled from three typical neurons in control slices and in slices treated with 50 or 200 ng/ml BDNF. E. Summary of data from 32 neurons in control slices, 41 neurons from slices treated with 50 ng/ml BDNF and 22 neurons form slices treated with 200 ng/ml BDNF. Note enhanced responses in 200 ng/ml BDNF, * = P < 0.05 relative to appropriate control (One-way Anova with Tukey Kramer multiple comparisons test). Modified from reference [103]