Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026

Paradigms for Pharmacological Characterization of C. elegans Synaptic Transmission Mutants
Published on: August 18, 2008
PDZ binding of TARPγ-8 controls synaptic transmission but not synaptic plasticity
Akio Sumioka1, Travis E Brown, Akihiko S Kato
1Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
None:
The reduction in synaptic transmission and plasticity in mice lacking the hippocampus-enriched AMPA receptor (AMPAR) auxiliary subunit TARPγ-8 could be a result of a reduction in AMPAR expression or of the direct action of γ-8. We generated TARPγ-8Δ4 knock-in mice lacking the C-terminal PDZ ligand. We found that synaptic transmission and AMPARs were reduced in the mutant mice, but extrasynaptic AMPAR expression and long-term potentiation (LTP) were unaltered. Our findings suggest that there are distinct TARP-dependent mechanisms for synaptic transmission and LTP.
Related Concept Videos
Long-term Potentiation
Long-term Potentiation
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when presynaptic neurons...
Long-term Depression
Calcium Ion Concentration Mechanism
If over time, all...
Long-term Depression
Postsynaptic Potential (PSP)
There are two types of receptors: ionotropic and metabotropic.
The ionotropic receptor is the membrane protein that has an...
Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism

