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Related Experiment Videos

Age-dependent decrease of synaptic plasticity in the neocortex of alphaCaMKII mutant mice

A Kirkwood1, A Silva, M F Bear

  • 1Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|April 1, 1997
PubMed
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Synaptic plasticity, including long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), is reduced in adult mice lacking alpha-calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (alphaCaMKII). This plasticity deficit is age-dependent, appearing only after a critical early postnatal period.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Molecular Biology
  • Synaptic Plasticity

Background:

  • Alpha-calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (alphaCaMKII) is crucial for synaptic plasticity.
  • Understanding the role of alphaCaMKII in visual cortex plasticity is essential for comprehending learning and memory mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of alphaCaMKII in synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) in the visual cortex.
  • To determine if the absence of alphaCaMKII affects cortical plasticity in an age-dependent manner.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized mutant mice genetically engineered to lack alphaCaMKII (alphaCaMKII-/-).
  • Electrophysiological recordings were performed in the visual cortex of mice at different postnatal ages (adult and 4-5 weeks old).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Standard conditioning protocols were employed to induce LTP and LTD.

    • Main Results:

    • Adult alphaCaMKII (-/-) mice exhibited significantly reduced LTP and LTD in the visual cortex.
    • Substantial LTP and LTD were successfully induced in 4- to 5-week-old alphaCaMKII (-/-) mice.
    • These findings indicate a critical period for alphaCaMKII's role in establishing cortical plasticity.

    Conclusions:

    • The impairment of visual cortex plasticity in alphaCaMKII (-/-) mice is conditional on postnatal age.
    • AlphaCaMKII is essential for the maturation and maintenance of synaptic plasticity during a specific early developmental window.