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LTP in the mouse nucleus accumbens is developmentally regulated
Nicole L Schramm1, Regula E Egli, Danny G Winder
1Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Center for Molecular Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232-0615, USA.
Synapse (New York, N.Y.)
|July 19, 2002
Summary
Long-term potentiation (LTP) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is more frequent in adolescent mice than adults. This developmental regulation of glutamatergic transmission may explain differences in drug abuse vulnerability.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurobiology
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Glutamatergic transmission in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is crucial for adapting behavior to drugs of abuse.
- NMDA-receptor dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) is a proposed mechanism for lasting behavioral changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental regulation of LTP in the NAc core.
- To determine if LTP induction or maintenance mechanisms are developmentally regulated.
Main Methods:
- Electrophysiological recordings of synaptic transmission in NAc core slices from adolescent and adult mice.
- Stimulation protocols to induce LTP and assess synaptic plasticity.
- Manipulation of extracellular magnesium to probe LTP induction mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Tetanus-evoked, NMDA receptor-dependent LTP occurred more frequently in adolescent (3-week-old) mice compared to adult (6-20-week-old) mice.
- cAMP-dependent enhancement of transmission showed no significant developmental regulation.
- Restoration of LTP in adult NAc core by removing extracellular Mg(2+) suggests developmental regulation of induction, not maintenance.
Conclusions:
- LTP in the NAc core is developmentally regulated, with enhanced plasticity in adolescents.
- These findings suggest that developmental differences in NAc synaptic plasticity may underlie distinct behavioral responses to drugs of abuse in adolescent versus adult individuals.
- The study highlights the importance of considering developmental stage in understanding addiction mechanisms.