Electrophysiological and pharmacological properties of neurons within solid basal forebrain transplants in the rat brain.

Electrophysiological and pharmacological properties of neurons within solid basal forebrain transplants were studied in adult rats anesthetized with urethane. No specific topography of the neurons recorded was observed within the graft. The mean spontaneous activity of the grafted neurons (GNs) was relatively low (4.9 impulses/s) but not unlike that of other central neurons in situ. A large proportion of GNs fired with regular discharges, but other modes of discharge were also observed. A few rhythmically bursting GNs were recorded having a discharge pattern very much like that of the rhythmically bursting medial septal neurons. The responses of GNs to glutamate, gamma-aminobutyric acid, acetylcholine, serotonin and norepinephrine was fairly similar to those described in other central structures.