Figure 1.

Neutron irradiation alters the electrophysiological properties of CA1 pyramidal neurons. All data are from whole-cell current-clamp recordings of CA1 pyramidal neurons from the superficial layer of the dorsal hippocampus, 6 months following the completion of 18 cGy neutron irradiation. A, RMP was decreased following neutron irradiation. B, Representative examples of responses to a range of brief current injections in neurons from 0 cGy control and 18 cGy mice. C, The rheobase current required to evoke an action potential was greater in neutron-irradiated animals compared with concurrent controls. D, Action potential frequency was attenuated across a range of current injections in 18 cGy neurons, (E) including in a subset of neurons with an RMP within −69.6 ± 3 mV. F, There was no significant alteration in input resistance. N = 8/7 animals, 29/28 cells (0 cGy and 18 cGy, respectively), except for E, where N = 23/16 cells. Gardner–Altman estimation plots show raw data on the left axis and a bootstrapped sampling distribution on the right axis. A black dot depicts the mean difference between groups and the 95% CI is indicated by the ends of the vertical black bars. Data are presented as mean ± SEM for D and E. *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001 (MLM regression or two-way ANOVA).