Dimethyl sulfoxide increases latency of anoxic terminal negativity in hippocampal slices of guinea pig in vitro

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), which is widely used as a solvent for a variety of drugs, was used in the present study to investigate its ability to increase the hypoxic tolerance of brain tissue in vitro. DC-potentials and evoked potentials (EP, Schaffer collateral stimulation) were recorded in the CA1 region of hippocampal slices from adult guinea pigs. The latencies of the negative DC-potential shift (anoxic terminal negativity, ATN) after onset of hypoxia (95% N 2, 5% CO 2) were determined during superfusion with artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) or DMSO 0.4% dissolved in aCSF, respectively. The latencies of ATN were increased by DMSO application from 7.5±0.9 min (mean±SEM) under control conditions ( n=38) to 11.1±1.3 min with DMSO ( n=22, P