Electrophysiological Investigation of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor-Dependent Metaplasticity in the Hippocampus

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are one of the major types of glutamatergic receptors contributing to synaptic plasticity mechanisms such as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression. Interestingly, activation of mGluRs alone can engage metaplastic mechanisms that create a new neuronal state, facilitating the induction and maintenance of future LTP. Here we describe typical methods used to investigate mGluR-induced metaplasticity in acute hippocampal slices. While this chapter focuses on in vitro field electrophysiological investigations, many of the principles can be applied to single-cell recordings as well as in vivo electrophysiology and indeed many types of metaplasticity phenomena.