Fig. 1
Long-term BDNF exposure augments glutamatergic excitatory synaptic currents. In (a) top panel: voltage clamp recordings of spontaneous synaptic activity of Control (black trace) and BDNF treated (blue trace) cultures; bottom panel: average tracings of spontaneous GABAA receptor (slow events; left) and AMPA-glutamate (fast events; right) receptor mediated PSCs, note the different decay time. In (b) bar plots reporting PSCs amplitude (left) and frequency (right), significantly (P < 0.001, one-way ANOVA) increased by BDNF exposure. In (c) bar plots reporting EPSCs (left; significantly increased when compared to Control; P < 0.001, one-way ANOVA) and IPSCs (right) frequency following BDNF treatment. Note the different scale of EPSCs and IPSCs in the frequency plot. In (d) cumulative distribution of amplitude values of Control (grey) and BDNF (blue) EPSCs (Kolmogorov-Smirnov test; P < 0.001). In (e) plots reporting EPSCs frequency (left) increased (P < 0.05, Mann-Whitney test) after 24 and 48 h long lasting BDNF treatments respect to Controls, while IPSCs frequency (right) is unchanged. In (f) cumulative distribution of amplitude values of Control (grey) and BDNF (blue) EPSCs after 24–48 h (P < 0.0045 Kolmogorov-Smirnov’s test)