Membrane potential fluctuations associated with glutamate- and homocysteate-induced depolarizations in hippocampal neurons.

Depolarizations induced by L-glutamate (Glu) or D-homocysteate (DH) in CA3 neurons were accompanied by increases in membrane potential fluctuation in thin hippocampal sections of the guinea pig. The properties of the Glu- and DH-induced noises suggest that they were induced by gating actions of amino acids on the ionic channels, and that an average open-gate time for DH is shorter than that for Glu.