Abstract
The extracellular potassium concentration in the cerebral cortex of the mammalian brain has been repeatedly reported to be approximately 3.0 mM. We have made detailed measurements with potassium-selective microelectrodes and have found significantly lower extracellular potassium concentrations in unstimulated rat brain caudate and thalamus (1.9-2.5 mM) when compared to cortex and cerebral spinal fluid (3.0-3.5 mM). These regional differences may be caused by variations in spontaneous activity of neurons, regional permeability differences in endothelial cells of brain capillaries to potassium, or caused by variations in uptake by glia.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 337-340 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Brain Research |
| Volume | 406 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 17 1987 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The authors wish to thank James Schenk and Tom Kent for helpful discussions and Ken Renner for technical assistance. This work was supported by NIH Grant NS08740 and a Javits Neuroscience Investigation Award to R.N,A.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Author National Institutes of Health National Institutes of Health National Institutes of Health National Institutes of Health The Bev Hartig Huntington's Disease Foundation National Institutes of Health | |
| National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke | R01NS008740 |
Keywords
- Brain ionic homeostasis
- Ion-selective microelectrode
- Potassium
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience
- Molecular Biology
- Clinical Neurology
- Developmental Biology
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