Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Improved Preparation and Preservation of Hippocampal Mouse Slices for a Very Stable and Reproducible Recording of Long-term Potentiation
Published on: June 26, 2013
A postsynaptic G-protein in hippocampal long-term potentiation
1Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Abstract:
The effects of guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding protein (G-protein) blockade on hippocampal LTP at stratum radiatum-CA1 synapses was studied. Bath application of 20 mM lithium chloride (LiCl) inhibited long-term potentiation (LTP) of extracellularly-recorded excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs). Inclusion of 100 mM LiCl in intracellular recording electrodes was shown to block postsynaptic G-proteins by bath-application of baclofen, an agonist at the G-protein linked gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAB) receptor. Under normal conditions, GABAB receptor activation causes a hyperpolarization postsynaptically, and a decrease in neurotransmitter release presynaptically. With LiCl in the recording electrodes, the postsynaptically-mediated hyperpolarization was blocked, while the presynaptically-mediated depression of EPSPs was unaffected. With postsynaptic G-proteins blocked in this manner, LTP at these synapses was inhibited. These studies provide evidence for the involvement of a postsynaptic G-protein in LTP of stratum radiatum-CA1 synapses.
Related Concept Videos
Long-term Potentiation
Long-term Depression
Long-term Potentiation
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when presynaptic neurons...
Long-term Depression
Calcium Ion Concentration Mechanism
If over time, all...
Postsynaptic Potential (PSP)
There are two types of receptors: ionotropic and metabotropic.
The ionotropic receptor is the membrane protein that has an...
Integration of Synaptic Events

