Inhibition of mammillary body neurons by direct activation of Group II metabotropic glutamate receptors

slice preparations containing the mammillary body nuclei of the mouse were employed to record responses to bath application of pharmacological agents to isolate the direct effect of activating Group II mGluRs. Application of the Group II mGluR specific agonist, APDC, resulted in a hyperpolarization of the membrane potential in mammillary body neurons, likely resulting from the opening of a potassium conductance. These data suggest that glutamatergic inputs to the mammillary body may be attenuated via Group II mGluRs and implicates a functional role for these receptors in memory-related circuits and broadly throughout the central nervous system.