Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Improved Preparation and Preservation of Hippocampal Mouse Slices for a Very Stable and Reproducible Recording of Long-term Potentiation
09:39

Improved Preparation and Preservation of Hippocampal Mouse Slices for a Very Stable and Reproducible Recording of Long-term Potentiation

Published on: June 26, 2013

Increase in activin beta A mRNA in rat hippocampus during long-term potentiation

K Inokuchi1, A Kato, K Hiraia

  • 1Mitsubishi Kasei Institute of Life Sciences, Tokyo, Japan.

FEBS Letters
|March 11, 1996
PubMed

Insights

Neural activity increases activin beta A mRNA in rat hippocampus, suggesting a role for activin in maintaining neural plasticity. This finding emerged from studies involving seizures and high-frequency stimulation.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Molecular Biology
  • Neuroplasticity

Background:

  • Neural activity plays a crucial role in brain function and adaptation.
  • Identifying genes regulated by neural activity is key to understanding brain plasticity.
  • Activin and inhibin subunits are known to influence cellular processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify genes upregulated by neural activity in the rat hippocampus.
  • To investigate the role of activin beta A subunit in neural plasticity.
  • To determine the NMDA receptor dependence of activin beta A induction.

Main Methods:

  • Messenger RNA (mRNA) differential display technique was employed.
  • Gene expression levels were analyzed following induced seizures (kainate) and high-frequency stimulation (HFS).
  • Specific gene targets, activin beta A and inhibin alpha mRNA, were quantified in the dentate gyrus.

Main Results:

  • Activin beta A mRNA expression was significantly induced by kainate-induced seizures.
  • High-frequency stimulation (HFS) led to a marked increase in activin beta A mRNA levels in the dentate gyrus.
  • The observed increase in activin beta A mRNA during long-term potentiation (LTP) was dependent on NMDA receptor activation.
  • In contrast, inhibin alpha mRNA levels remained unchanged after LTP induction.

Conclusions:

  • Activin beta A is a gene induced by neural activity in the hippocampus.
  • The findings suggest that activin may play a role in the maintenance of neural plasticity in the adult brain.
  • NMDA receptor signaling is involved in the activity-dependent regulation of activin beta A expression.

More Related Videos

Long-term Potentiation of Perforant Pathway-dentate Gyrus Synapse in Freely Behaving Mice11:13

Long-term Potentiation of Perforant Pathway-dentate Gyrus Synapse in Freely Behaving Mice

Published on: November 29, 2013

Analysis of Gene Expression Changes in the Rat Hippocampus After Deep Brain Stimulation of the Anterior Thalamic Nucleus09:46

Analysis of Gene Expression Changes in the Rat Hippocampus After Deep Brain Stimulation of the Anterior Thalamic Nucleus

Published on: March 8, 2015

Related Concept Videos

Long-term Potentiation01:35

Long-term Potentiation

Long-term potentiation, or LTP, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in the brain. LTP is the process of synaptic strengthening that occurs over time between pre- and postsynaptic neuronal connections. The synaptic strengthening of LTP works in opposition to the synaptic weakening of long-term depression (LTD) and together are the main mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.
Long-term Potentiation01:25

Long-term Potentiation

Long-term potentiation, or LTP, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in the brain. LTP is the process of synaptic strengthening that occurs over time between pre and postsynaptic neuronal connections. The synaptic strengthening of LTP works in opposition to the synaptic weakening of long-term depression (LTD) and together are the main mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when presynaptic neurons...