Acidosis and alkalosis impair brain functions through weakening spike encoding at cortical GABAergic neurons.

Acidosis and alkalosis, associated with metabolic disorders, lead to the pathological changes of cognition and behaviors in clinical practices of neurology and psychology. Cellular mechanisms for these functional disorders in the central nervous system remain unclear. We have investigated the influences of acidosis and alkalosis on the functions of cortical GABAergic neurons. Both acidosis and alkalosis impair the ability of encoding sequential spikes at these GABAergic neurons. The impairments of their spiking are associated with the increases of refractory periods, threshold potential and afterhyperpolarization. Our studies reveal that acidosis and alkalosis impair cortical GABAergic neurons and in turn deteriorate brain functions, in which their final targets may be voltage-gated channels of sodium and potassium.