The present study examined a change in spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) following ischemia in substantia gelatinosa (SG) neurons of adult rat spinal cord slices by using the whole-cell, patch-clamp technique. At about 10 min after superfusion of an oxygen- and glucose-free medium, sIPSCs were remarkably increased in amplitude and frequency when compared with those in the control. In a phase of the increase in sIPSC activities, GABAergic and glycinergic sIPSCs, which were observed in the presence of strychnine and bicuculline, respectively, with TTX, were increased greatly in frequency with a minimal change in their amplitudes. It is concluded that the in vitro ischemia increases the spontaneous quantal releases of GABA and glycine to SG neurons from nerve terminals, a part of this enhancement is possibly due to an increase in spontaneous activities of inhibitory interneurons. GABA released thus might serve to inhibit the release Of L-glutamate from nerve terminals. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.