Antagonism of the actions of glutamate by pentobarbitone or midazolam in the frog optic tectum in vitro.

Excitatory synaptic transmission, induced by electrical stimulation of optic nerve fibres on relay neurones, was recorded from in vitro preparations of the optic tectum of the frog. Bath-applied glutamate (the putative excitatory transmitter of the optic nerve) produced transient enhancement of tectal field potentials, followed by a depression, presumably caused by sustained neuronal depolarization. Pentobarbitone potently antagonized the depressant effect of glutamate, producing an approximate 50% reduction in the response of the tectum to glutamate at 25 microM. Midazolam also decreased the effect of glutamate with an IC50 value of 5 nM. Since, in the optic tectum of the frog, neither pentobarbitone nor midazolam enhance responses to bath-applied GABA, it is suggested that this area of the brain is a useful preparation in which to investigate the interaction of barbiturates and benzodiazepines with glutamate receptor mechanisms, without concurrent interactions with GABAergic processes.