ABSTRACT
The attractiveness of the giant fiber’s relatively accessible structure and suitable size has focused research on the study of synaptic transmission in the terminal abdominal ganglion of the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana. This chapter presents evidence that insect nervous preparation is suitable for neuropharmacological applications to biomedical research. Investigation of the electrophysiology of synaptic transmisssion in the central nervous system (CNS) of the cockroach was pioneered by Roeder et al. Electrophysiology studies of giant intemeurons in the A6 ganglion started with the use of microelectrodes and later advanced with the implementation of a more suitable technique, the single-fiber oil-gap method. The chapter reports the synaptic actions of two agents (amantadine and piribedil) whose properties in the pharmacology of the vertebrate CNS have resulted in therapies for Parkinson’s disease. Both molecules have been tested in synaptic transmission of Periplaneta americana in order to elucidate a putative role for cholinergic receptors.
