Influence of nitric oxide on the activity of cuneate neurons in the rat

Some neurons of main and external cuneate nuclei are immunoreactive for nitric oxide (NO) synthase, suggesting a role for endogenous NO in the early stages of somatosensory processing. We tested this hypothesis by investigating the possibility that NO modulates cuneate discharge. We observed that both spontaneous and N-methyl-D-aspartate-evoked activities of cuneate neurons were decreased by NO precursor L-arginine. The inhibition of NO synthase, by application of N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, instead, abolished the depressant effect induced by L-arginine. Our data suggest a NO modulation of cuneate neurons and provide support for a physiologic role not only in increasing the signal-to-noise ratio in the excited cells but also in a form of surround inhibition.