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Updated: Apr 7, 2026

Assessment of Long-term Depression Induction in Adult Cerebellar Slices
Published on: October 16, 2019
Interneuron- and GABA(A) receptor-specific inhibitory synaptic plasticity in cerebellar Purkinje cells
Qionger He1, Ian Duguid1, Beverley Clark2
1Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, UCL, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Abstract:
Inhibitory synaptic plasticity is important for shaping both neuronal excitability and network activity. Here we investigate the input and GABA(A) receptor subunit specificity of inhibitory synaptic plasticity by studying cerebellar interneuron-Purkinje cell (PC) synapses. Depolarizing PCs initiated a long-lasting increase in GABA-mediated synaptic currents. By stimulating individual interneurons, this plasticity was observed at somatodendritic basket cell synapses, but not at distal dendritic stellate cell synapses. Basket cell synapses predominantly express β2-subunit-containing GABA(A) receptors; deletion of the β2-subunit ablates this plasticity, demonstrating its reliance on GABA(A) receptor subunit composition. The increase in synaptic currents is dependent upon an increase in newly synthesized cell surface synaptic GABA(A) receptors and is abolished by preventing CaMKII phosphorylation of GABA(A) receptors. Our results reveal a novel GABA(A) receptor subunit- and input-specific form of inhibitory synaptic plasticity that regulates the temporal firing pattern of the principal output cells of the cerebellum.
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