Abstract
Mild ischemic insults may limit damage from subsequent ischemic insults in heart and brain (Murry et al., 1986; Kato et al., 1992; Li et al., 1992; Liu et al., 1992; Walker et al., 1993). This phenomenon was defined as ischemie preconditioning (IPC). In brain, for example, 3 min of sublethal ischemia followed by 3 days of reperfusion protected against hippocampal CA1 neuronal damage after 8 min of ischemia (Liu et al., 1992). Preconditioning also improved evoked potential recovery in hippocampal slices (Schurr et al., 1986; Schurr and Rigor, 1987). Studies reported here seek to further characterize IPC in intact brain and to derive insights into its mechanism through studies in hippocampal slices. The rationale for these studies is derived from the belief that understanding the mechanisms of IPC could offer unique insights into basic mechanisms of ischemie injury and into potential therapies to ameliorate the consequences of anoxia or ischemia.