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Investigating Long-term Synaptic Plasticity in Interlamellar Hippocampus CA1 by Electrophysiological Field Recording
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Developmental changes in release properties of the CA3-CA1 glutamate synapse in rat hippocampus

P Wasling1, E Hanse, B Gustafsson

  • 1Institute of Physiology and Pharmacology, Department of Physiology, Göteborg University, Box 432, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden. pontus.wasling@physiol.gu.se

Journal of Neurophysiology
|August 6, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) increases in rat hippocampus during development, linked to decreased release probability (Pr) at CA3-CA1 synapses. This change is synapse-specific and not dependent on neural activity.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Biology
  • Synaptic Plasticity

Background:

  • Understanding synaptic development is crucial for comprehending brain maturation.
  • CA3-CA1 synapses in the hippocampus play a key role in learning and memory.
  • Developmental changes in neurotransmitter release influence synaptic function.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate developmental changes in release probability (Pr) and paired-pulse plasticity (PPF) at CA3-CA1 synapses in neonatal rats.
  • To determine the relationship between PPF and Pr during early postnatal development.
  • To explore the role of neural activity in these developmental changes.

Main Methods:

  • Field excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) recordings in hippocampal slices from neonatal rats.
  • Pharmacological manipulation using MK-801 (an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist) to assess Pr.
  • In vivo tetanus toxin injection to block neural activity.

Main Results:

  • Paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) was absent in the first postnatal week and increased during the second postnatal week.
  • The developmental increase in PPF correlated with a decrease in release probability (Pr).
  • Pr heterogeneity was observed early and the developmental decrease in Pr was selective for high-Pr synapses.

Conclusions:

  • Developmental increase in PPF at CA3-CA1 synapses is associated with a selective reduction in Pr, particularly at high-Pr synapses.
  • This developmental shift in release probability may involve a reduction in the release probability of individual vesicles (Pves), potentially due to altered Ca2+ influx.
  • The observed developmental changes in release are not critically dependent on normal neural activity during the second postnatal week.

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