Long-term potentiation of inhibitory circuits and synapses in the central nervous system

Glycinergic inhibition evoked disynaptically in the teleost Mauthner cell by stimulation of the contralateral eighth nerve exhibits long-term potentiation following classical tetanization of that pathway. This enhancement occurs at the synapses between primary afferents onto second-order interneurons and the connections between these inhibitory cells and the Mauthner neuron. The evidence for modifications of glycinergic transmission is that the slope of the relation between the presynaptic volley and the synaptic conductance can be greater after the tetanus. This increase in gain is still manifest after pharmacological block of potentiation at the excitatory synapse with glutamate antagonists. Inhibitory long-term potentiation is induced by tetani weaker than those required for enhancement of the monosynaptic excitation of the other (ipsilateral) Mauthner cell. Thus, in vivo learning can alter the balance between excitation and inhibition within a network by modifying one or both of them.