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Updated: Jun 27, 2026
Ovariectomy and 17β-estradiol Replacement in Rats and Mice: A Visual Demonstration
Published on: June 7, 2012
Effects of 17beta-estradiol on synaptic plasticity in the rat medial vestibular nuclei
Silvarosa Grassi1, Adele Frondaroli, Cristina Dieni
1Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Human Physiology, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy. sgrassi@unipg,it
Conclusion:
This study shows that 17beta-estradiol (E(2)) can amplify the long-term potentiation (LTP) induced in the vestibular nuclei by high frequency stimulation (HFS), while potentiation induced by E(2) alone, which is unrelated to synaptic high frequency activation, is reversed by HFS.
Objective:
Like HFS, exogenous E(2) induces long-lasting enhancement of synaptic responses to vestibular afferent stimulation in the medial vestibular nuclei (MVN), through NMDA receptor activation. The aim of this study was to verify the possible interaction of E(2) and HFS in inducing LTP.
Materials And Methods:
In rat brainstem slices, we analysed the modifications induced in the field potential evoked in the MVN by: 1) HFS delivered after induction of E(2) effect and 2) E(2) applied after induction of HFS-LTP.
Results:
HFS reversed the E(2)-induced potentiation in most cases, while E(2) was able to increase the magnitude of potentiation induced by HFS.
