Presynaptic BDNF promotes postsynaptic long-term potentiation in the dorsal striatum

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) facilitates the formation of long-term potentiation (LTP) in hippocampus, but whether this involves release from presynaptic versus postsynaptic pools is unclear. We therefore tested whether BDNF is essential for LTP in dorsal striatum, a structure in which the neurotrophin is present only in afferent terminals. Whole-cell recordings were collected from medium spiny neurons in striatal slices prepared from adult mice. High-frequency stimulation (HFS) of neocortical afferents produced a rapid and stable NMDA receptor-dependent potentiation. The ratio of AMPA to NMDA receptor-mediated components of the EPSPs was substantially increased after inducing potentiation, suggesting that the response enhancement involved postsynaptic changes. In accord with this, paired-pulse response ratios, a measure of transmitter release kinetics, were reduced by elevated calcium but not by LTP. Infusion of the BDNF scavenger TrkB-Fc blocked the formation of potentiation, beginning with the second minute after HFS, without reducing responses to HFS. These results suggest that presynaptic pools of BDNF can act within 2 min of HFS to support the formation of a postsynaptic form of LTP in striatum.