Experimental characterization of the Xe 5p photoionization by angle- and spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy

Heckenkamp C, Schäfers F, Schönhense G, Heinzmann U. Experimental characterization of the Xe 5p photoionization by angle- and spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. Zeitschrift für Physik D: Atoms, Molecules and Clusters. 1986;2(4):257-274.Spin- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy with elliptically polarized radiation has been used to fully characterize the dynamics of photoelectron emission from free Xe atoms in the 5p-autoionization and continuum region. An advantageous reaction geometry and its experimental realization at the storage ring BESSY are discussed. The three independent experimental parameters which characterize the angular dependence of the photoelectron spin-polarization vector are reported for the wavelength range from 100nm to 40 nm. The results are compared with theoretical predictions based on RRPA-, RPAE- and semiempirical MQDT-calculations. The combination of existing data for the differential photoionization cross section with the spinpolarization parameters is used to completely decouple the photoionization channels: The transition matrix elements and their relative phases are determined separately for every single dissociation channel. The results are discussed in the context of the MQDT. Correlation effects and the influence of spin-orbit interaction on the continuum states most clearly show up when the Dill-Fano angular-momentum-transfer formalism is applied

Functional mapping of GABA A receptor subtypes in the amygdala

The physiological significance of the large diversity of GABA A receptors is poorly understood. Using mice, which carry a point mutation that renders specific subtypes of GABA A receptors diazepam insensitive, it was recently discovered that particular types of GABA A receptors are involved in specific, behaviorally relevant signaling pathways. We have used these mice to study inhibitory synaptic transmission in the amygdala. GABA A receptor-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) per se were not affected by the point mutations. Their modulation by diazepam, however, was altered depending on the genotype of the mice studied. Based on the different responses to diazepam, we found that IPSCs in the lateral/basolateral amygdala were mediated by both alpha2- and alpha1-subunit-containing GABA A receptors whereas those in the central amygdala were mediated only by alpha2-subunit-containing GABA A receptors. Immunohistochemical staining corroborated these findings at a morphological level. To investigate a possible link between interneuron and receptor diversity, we selectively depressed release from the subset of GABAergic terminals carrying type 1 cannabinoid receptors. These receptors are known to modulate amygdala-mediated behavior. Application of a type 1 cannabinoid receptor agonist resulted in a selective reduction of inhibitory current mediated by alpha1-subunit-containing GABA A receptors. Mice with specific diazepam-insensitive GABA A receptor subtypes therefore provide a novel tool to investigate GABA A receptor distribution and the organization of inhibitory circuits at a functional level. The crucial role of the amygdala for the mediation of anxiety is in agreement with the part that alpha2-subunit-containing GABA A receptors play in anxiolysis and their important function in this area of the brain