Ifenprodil is a selective blocker of NMDA receptors that are heterodimers composed of GluN1/GluN2B subunits. This pharmacological profile has been extensively used to test the role of GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors in learning and memory formation. However, ifenprodil has also been reported to have actions at a number of other receptors, including high voltageactivated calcium channels. Here we show that, in the basolateral amygdala, ifenprodil dose dependently blocks excitatory transmission to principal neurons by a presynaptic mechanism. This action of ifenprodil has an IC 50 of ~10 μM and is fully occluded by the P/Q type calcium channel blocker ω-agatoxin. We conclude that ifenprodil reduces synaptic transmission in the basolateral amygdala by partially blocking P-type voltage-dependent calcium channels. © 2012 the American Physiological Society.
CITATION STYLE
Delaney, A. J., Power, J. M., & Sah, P. (2012). Ifenprodil reduces excitatory synaptic transmission by blocking presynaptic P/Q type calcium channels. Journal of Neurophysiology, 107(6), 1571–1575. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.01066.2011
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