@article{oai:dmu.repo.nii.ac.jp:00000996,
 author = {Shirakawa, Kenshu},
 issue = {1},
 journal = {Dokkyo journal of medical sciences},
 month = {Mar},
 note = {The midbrain periaqueductal gray( PAG) plays a crucial role in the descending pain modulating system.NMDA receptors (NMDARs) and serotonergic and GABAergic neurons have been identified in the PAG and are involved in the descending pain-modulating pathway. We characterized the NMDA component of the excitatory synaptic transmission within the ventrolateral subdivision of the PAG( vlPAG) using a whole cell patch clamp technique and then detected the expression of tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), serotonin synthesizing enzyme, and glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), GABA synthesizing enzyme to understand thevlPAG intrinsic neurotransmission. The NMDA/non-NMDA ratio and the decay time constant of theNMDA component of the non-serotonergic GABAergic neurons were significantly larger than those of nonserotonergicnon-GABAergic neurons and serotonergic GABAergic neurons. This suggests that the non-serotonergic GABAergic neurons might play an important role in the descending pain modulating system originated from the PAG. The decay time constant of the NMDA component of the non-serotonergic non-GABAergic neuron was significantly greater in the mouse with partial sciatic nerve ligation compared with the control mouse. These results suggest that the subunit composition of the NMDAR in the non-serotonergicnon-GABAergic neurons change during neuropathic pain., Original},
 pages = {17--27},
 title = {NMDA Component of the Excitatory Synaptic Transmission of Neurons Containing Serotonin or GABA in the Ventrolateral Subdivision of the Periaqueductal Gray Matter of Mouse},
 volume = {39},
 year = {2012}
}