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A role for MCH neuron firing in modulating hippocampal plasticity threshold
Julia J Harris1, Denis Burdakov2
1Sensory Circuits and Neurotechnology Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK; System Neuroscience and Energy Control Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.
None:
It has been revealed that hypothalamic neurons containing the peptide, melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) can influence learning [1] and memory formation [2], but the cellular mechanisms by which they perform this function are not well understood. Here, we examine the role of MCH neural input to the hippocampus, and show in vitro that optogenetically increasing MCH axon activity facilitates hippocampal plasticity by lowering the threshold for synaptic potentiation. These results align with increasing evidence that MCH neurons play a regulatory role in learning, and reveal that this could be achieved by modulating plasticity thresholds in the hippocampus.
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