EFFECTS OF DFP ON UNIT-ACTIVITY IN RAT SUPERIOR COLLICULUS

  • 1 December 1987
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 8  (4) , 593-605
Abstract
The effect of systemically administered diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) on the spontaneous firing rate and light-evoked responses of rat superior colliculus neurons was determined from average histograms of single unit and multiunit activity. DFP produced a dose-dependent increase in superior colliculus spontaneous activity, and a decrease in light evoked activity. In many experiments, light evoked responses were completely abolished. The changes in spontaneous activity were reversible over a period of about 5 hours following DFP injection. These results establish the retino-tectal pathway as a major target of DFP toxicity.