Figure 1

The effects of taurine on I/O functions and PPF in P18–25 groups. (A) The I/O curve was significantly depressed in Lead group compared with that of Con group (Lead: n = 9, Con: n = 11, p < 0.01). There was neither significant difference in I/O function between Con and Con+Tau groups (Con+Tau: n = 9, p > 0.05), nor a significant difference in I/O function between Lead and Lead+PW-Tau groups (n = 10, p > 0.05). (B) Representative traces of PPF at 40 ms ISIs in the four groups. (C) The PPF curves at varying from 10–150 ms in different groups. The average peak facilitation was significantly lower in Lead group than that in Con group (Lead: ISI = 40 ms, n = 9; Con: ISI = 40 ms, n = 11; p < 0.01). Moreover, the Lead+PW-Tau group showed an insignificant augment compared with the Lead group (Lead+PW-Tau: ISI = 50 ms, n = 10; p > 0.05), but an evident reduction versus Con group (p < 0.01). The peak facilitation of the Con+Tau was significantly lower than that of controls (Con+Tau: ISI = 50 ms, n = 9; p < 0.01). The average peak facilitation was 190.4%, 148.8%, 160.5% and 166.3% in the Con, Con+Tau, Lead and Lead+PW-Tau groups, respectively. One-way ANOVA with the Bonferroni post hoc test were used for statistical analysis.