Increased binding of GABA to its post-synaptic carrier sites on the plasma membrane of Deiters' neurons after a learning experiment in rats.

A new micromethod for studying the interaction of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) with its post-synaptic uptake in a defined type of nerve cell is described. The method involves the isolation by free hand microdissection of Deiters' nerve cells from the rabbit lateral vestibular nucleus and their incubation with tritiated GABA in the presence of 100 mM Na+ at 4 degrees C. From the binding data a Kd was calculated for this interaction of 104 nM and a BMax of 8.4 X 10(5) sites/neuron. The method was applied to the study of the modifications of the binding of GABA to Deiters' neurons from control rats and rats trained to balance on a steel wire in order to reach food. This performance is a powerful stimulation to the vestibular system. The results show that, in the binding experiment with 100 nM [3H]GABA, the amount of GABA which specifically binds to the Deiters' neurons is increased by 38% in the trained rats. Analogously, when the incubation with GABA was performed at 37 degrees C, involving an intake of GABA into the neurons, the amount of GABA taken up increases by 50% in the trained group. No GABA-binding or uptake increase was found when animals were subjected to intense vestibular stimulation for a short period without learning. These results indicate that when rats learn a behavioral test which involves an improved vestibular control, there is a specific neurochemical modification in the neurons of the lateral vestibular nucleus. This modification seems to be of importance for the physiology of the neuronal circuits controlling the vestibular function in the rat.