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Pairing of pre- and postsynaptic activities in hippocampal CA1 neurons induces long-term modifications of NMDA
1Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Cheng-Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
Abstract:
An in vitro slice preparation of rat hippocampus was used to study the long-term modifications of pharmacologically isolated N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSPNMDA). Intracellular recordings were made from CA1 pyramidal cells in the presence of 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX; 10 microM) and picrotoxin (50 microM) which block non-NMDA and GABAA receptors, respectively. Pairing of low-frequency EPSPNMDA with postsynaptic depolarization induced a long-term depression (LTD) of EPSPNMDA. The maximal reduction of EPSPNMDA amplitude amounted to 81.3% of the control 1 min after the pairing. When low-frequency synaptic stimulation was paired with strong postsynaptic depolarization, a long-term potentiation (LTP) of EPSPNMDA could be induced. These results suggest that the induction of long-term modifications of EPSPNMDA has at least a postsynaptic component.