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Blind patch clamp recordings were made from substantia gelatinosa (SG) neurones in the adult rat spinal cord slice to study the mechanisms of cholinergic modulation of GABAergic inhibition.

In the majority of SG neurones tested, carbachol (10 μM) increased the frequency (677 % of control) of spontaneous GABAergic inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs). A portion of these events appeared to result from the generation of spikes by GABAergic interneurones, since large amplitude IPSCs were eliminated by tetrodotoxin (1 μM).

The effect of carbachol on spontaneous IPSCs was mimicked by neostigmine, suggesting that GABAergic interneurones are under tonic regulation by cholinergic systems.

The frequency of GABAergic miniature IPSCs in the presence of tetrodotoxin (1 μM) was also increased by carbachol without affecting amplitude distribution, indicating that acetylcholine facilitates quantal …