PrP^Sc causes a reduction in spontaneous synaptic neurotransmitter release.

Hippocampal neurons from WT mice (A, G) or Prn-p0/0 mice (D) were treated for 24 hrs with either mock-purified material or purified PrPSc. Whole-cell patch clamping was used to record mEPSCs (A, D) and mIPSCs (G), the frequencies and amplitudes of which were quantitated (B,C, E, F, H, I). N = 15 cells from 3 independent experiments. ***p<0.001, **p<0.01, by Student’s t-test; N.S., not significantly different.