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Related Experiment Videos

Evidence for altered NMDA receptor function as a basis for metaplasticity in visual cortex.

Benjamin D Philpot1, Juan S Espinosa, Mark F Bear

  • 1Howard Hughes Medical Institute and The Picower Center for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
|July 5, 2003
PubMed
Summary

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Sensory deprivation enhances NMDA receptor function in the visual cortex, altering synaptic plasticity. This effect is reversible with NMDA receptor blockade or brief light exposure, suggesting a role for NMDA receptors in visual cortex development.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Synaptic Plasticity
  • Visual Cortex Development

Background:

  • Sensory deprivation impacts synaptic plasticity in the visual cortex.
  • Dark-rearing facilitates long-term potentiation and reduces long-term depression (LTD).
  • Mechanisms may involve LTD downregulation or enhanced NMDA receptor function.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of NMDA receptor function in sensory deprivation-induced changes in synaptic plasticity.
  • To determine if enhanced NMDA receptor function underlies reduced LTD in dark-reared animals.
  • To explore the reversibility of these effects.

Main Methods:

  • Electrophysiological recordings in the visual cortex of dark-reared animals.
  • Frequency-response analysis of long-term depression (LTD).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Pharmacological manipulation using NMDA receptor antagonists.
  • In vivo light exposure to modulate NMDA receptor function.

    • Main Results:

    • Dark-rearing induced a horizontal shift in the frequency-response function for LTD.
    • LTD was decreased at 1 Hz stimulation but increased at 0.5 Hz stimulation in dark-reared animals.
    • Partial NMDA receptor blockade acutely reversed the effects of dark-rearing on LTD frequency dependence.
    • Brief light exposure rapidly reversed the dark-rearing-induced changes in LTD.

    Conclusions:

    • Evidence supports enhanced NMDA receptor function in the visual cortex following sensory deprivation.
    • NMDA receptor activity is crucial for the frequency-dependent regulation of LTD during visual development.
    • Acute interventions targeting NMDA receptors can rapidly reverse sensory deprivation-induced plasticity changes.