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Updated: May 25, 2026

Assessment of Long-term Depression Induction in Adult Cerebellar Slices
Published on: October 16, 2019
A form of synaptically induced metabotropic glutamate receptor-dependent long-term depression that does not require
Michael R Kasten1, Timothy Connelly, Yuan Fan
1Department of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Abstract:
The calcium control hypothesis posits that postsynaptic calcium increases are required to trigger synaptic plasticity, with large increases inducing LTP and small increases inducing LTD. In CA1 of the hippocampus, however, LTD induced by chemical activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors (agonist-LTD) is independent of increases in postsynaptic calcium. Here we tested whether LTD induced by pairing of presynaptic stimulation with postsynaptic depolarization (synaptic-LTD) is similarly calcium-independent. This protocol induced an NMDA-dependent LTP when paired at 0mV, which was converted to mGluR-dependent LTD when paired at -20mV. The LTD was not blocked by calcium chelation, blockers of L- or T-type voltage-dependent calcium channels, or hyperpolarization to -70mV. We conclude that synaptically induced mGluR-dependent LTD, like agonist induced mGluR LTD, does not require calcium influx for its induction.
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