Facilitatory action of muscarine on the slow afterdepolarization of rat dorsolateral septal nucleus neurons in vitro.

Intracellular recordings were made from an isolated rat brain slice preparation containing the dorsolateral septal nucleus (DLSN). Calcium-dependent slow afterdepolarizations (slow-ADPs) were observed in a population of neurons, which exhibited bursts of action potentials. Bath application of muscarine (10-20 microM) augmented the slow-ADP and triggered burst firing on top of the slow-ADP. This effect of muscarine was blocked by atropine (1 microM). Muscarine augmented the slowly decaying inward current (slow-ADC) recorded by voltage clamping the afterpotential of cathodally-evoked spikes. Our data suggest that some of the burst-like activity induced by muscarine in a select population of rat DLSN neurons is mediated partly by augmentation of the current which underlies the slow-ADP.