Neurochemical and ionic mechanisms of dorsal root potentials in the spinal cord of the immature rat

Dorsal root potentials (DRP) recorded from spinal cord of 7-14-days old rats have two waves of depolarization. The fast wave of DRP is GABA-ergic in nature and the slow wave is evoked mainly by increasing of extracellular K+-ion concentration near the primary afferent terminals. The possible mechanisms of increasing extracellular K+-ion concentration evoked by dorsal root stimulation are discussed.