Hippocampal Synaptic Transmission (hippocampal + synaptic_transmission)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Hippocampal synaptic transmission and LTP in vivo are intact following bilateral vestibular deafferentation in the rat

HIPPOCAMPUS, Issue 4 2010
Yiwen Zheng
Abstract Numerous studies in animals and humans have shown that damage to the vestibular system in the inner ear results in spatial memory deficits, presumably because areas of the brain such as the hippocampus require vestibular input to accurately represent the spatial environment. Consistent with this hypothesis, studies in animals have demonstrated that complete bilateral vestibular deafferentation (BVD) causes a disruption of place cell firing as well as theta activity. The aim of this study was to investigate whether BVD in rats affects baseline field potentials (field excitatory postsynaptic potentials and population spikes) and long-term potentiation (LTP) in CA1 and the dentate gyrus (DG) of awake freely moving rats up to 43 days post-BVD and of anesthetized rats at 7 months post-BVD. Compared to sham controls, BVD had no significant effect on either baseline field potentials or LTP in either condition. These results suggest that although BVD interferes with the encoding, consolidation, and/or retrieval of spatial memories and the function of place cells, these changes are not related to detectable in vivo decrements in basal synaptic transmission or LTP, at least in the investigated pathways. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Adenosine A3 receptors in the rat hippocampus: Lack of interaction with A1 receptors

DRUG DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, Issue 4 2003
Luísa V. Lopes
Abstract Adenosine acts as a neuromodulator in the hippocampus essentially through activation of inhibitory A1 receptors. Using single-cell PCR analysis, we found that CA1 pyramidal cells coexpress A1 receptor mRNA together with that of another adenosine receptor, the A3 receptor. As occurs for the A1 receptor, Western blot analysis indicated that the A3 receptor is also located in hippocampal nerve terminals. However, activation of A3 receptors with its purportedly selective agonist Cl-IBMECA (0.1,10 µM) failed to affect hippocampal synaptic transmission or to modify the evoked release of glutamate or GABA. Also, blockade of A3 receptors with MRS 1191 (5 µM) failed to affect either hypoxia- or ischemia-induced depression of hippocampal synaptic transmission. Activation of A3 receptors also failed to control A1 receptor function, as Cl-IBMECA (100 nM) did not modify the ability of CPA to displace [3H]DPCPX binding to hippocampal membranes or the A1 receptor-mediated inhibition of hippocampal synaptic transmission. However, ligand binding studies revealed that Cl-IBMECA displaced the binding of an A1 receptor agonist ([3H]R-PIA, Ki=47 nM) or antagonist ([3H]DPCPX, Ki=130 nM), which suggests that A3 receptor ligands also act on native A1 receptors. We believe that A3 receptors are expressed in hippocampal neurons and are located in hippocampal nerve terminals, though their function remains elusive. Drug Dev. Res. 58:428,438, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Effect of cortical spreading depression on synaptic transmission of rat hippocampal tissues

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 5 2006
Brigitta Wernsmann
Abstract Cortical spreading depression (CSD) is believed to be a putative neuronal mechanism underlying migraine aura and subsequent pain. In vitro and ex vivo/in vitro brain slice techniques were used to investigate CSD effects on the field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSP) and tetanus-induced long-term potentiation (LTP) in combined rat hippocampus,cortex slices. Induction of CSD in combined hippocampus,cortex slices in which DC negative deflections did not propagate from neocortex to hippocampus significantly augmented fEPSP amplitude and LTP in the hippocampus. Propagation of CSD to the hippocampus resulted in a transient suppression followed by reinstatement of fEPSP with amplitude of pre-CSD levels. LTP was inhibited when DC potential shifts were recorded in the hippocampus. Furthermore, CSD was induced in anaesthetized rats and, thereafter, hippocampal tissues were examined in vitro. LTP was significantly enhanced in hippocampal slices obtained from ipsilateral site to the hemisphere in which CSD was evoked. The results indicate the disturbances of hippocampal synaptic transmission triggered by propagation of CSD. This perturbation of hippocampal synaptic transmission induced by CSD may relate to some symptoms occurring during migraine attacks, such as amnesia and hyperactivity. [source]


Exogenous nitric oxide causes potentiation of hippocampal synaptic transmission during low-frequency stimulation via the endogenous nitric oxide,cGMP pathway

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 4 2001
Christelle L. M. Bon
Abstract Nitric oxide (NO) is a putative participant in synaptic plasticity and demonstrations that exogenous NO can elicit the same plastic changes have been taken to support such a role. The experiments, carried out on the CA1 region of rat hippocampal slices, were aimed at testing this interpretation. A major component of tetanus-induced long-term potentiation (LTP) was lost in response to l -nitroarginine, which inhibits NO synthase, and 1H -[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3- a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), which inhibits NO-sensitive soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC). At 0.2 Hz afferent fibre stimulation, exogenous NO produced, concentration-dependently, a synaptic depression that reverted on washout to a persistent potentiation that occluded tetanus-induced LTP. The NO concentrations necessary (estimated in the 100-nm range), however, were mostly supramaximal for stimulating hippocampal slice sGC activity. Nevertheless the potentiation, but not the preceding depression, was blocked by ODQ. l -nitroarginine and an NMDA antagonist were similarly effective, indicating mediation by the endogenous NMDA receptor,NO synthase,sGC pathway. At a concentration normally too low to affect synaptic transmission but sufficient to stimulate sGC (estimated to be 50 nm), exogenous NO reversed the effect of l -nitroarginine and caused a potentiation which was blocked by ODQ. At a concentration inducing the depression/potentiation sequence, NO partially inhibited hippocampal slice oxygen consumption. It is concluded that, at physiological levels, exogenous NO can directly elicit a potentiation of synaptic transmission through sGC, provided that the synapses are suitably primed. At higher concentrations, NO inhibits mitochondrial respiration, which can result in an enduring synaptic potentiation due to secondary activation of the endogenous NO,cGMP pathway. [source]


The newly synthesized linoleic acid derivative DCP-LA ameliorates memory deficits in animal models treated with amyloid-, peptide and scopolamine

PSYCHOGERIATRICS, Issue 4 2005
Tetsu NAGATA
Abstract Background:, In our earlier study, 8-[2-(2-pentyl-cyclopropylmethyl)-cyclopropyl]-octanoic acid (DCP-LA), a newly synthesized linoleic acid derivative with cyclopropane rings instead of cis -double bonds, facilitated hippocampal synaptic transmission by stimulating glutamate release from presynaptic terminals as mediated via ,7 acetylcholine (Ach) receptors under the influence of protein kinase C. The present study assessed the possibility of using DCP-LA as a cognitive enhancer in animal models. Methods:, Amyloid-,1,40 peptide (300 pM/day) or saline was continuously injected in the right lateral ventricle of rats for 2 weeks. Then, the water maze test was carried out, once per day for 7 days, 1 h after the intraperitoneal injection with DCP-LA or saline. In a different set of experiments, rats were intraperitoneally injected with scopolamine (1 mg/kg) and the water maze test was performed twice per day, with the first test taking place 1 h after the intraperitoneal injection with DCP-LA, galantamine or saline, and the second test starting 2 min after the end of the first. Results:, Continuous intraventricular injection with amyloid-,1,40 peptide in the rat lateral ventricle prolonged the latency for acquisition in the water maze test. DCP-LA (1 mg/kg, intraperitoneal (i.p.)) significantly improved the impairment, which reached a level similar to the latency for sham. Furthermore, DCP-LA (1 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly ameliorated learning and memory deficits in rats treated with scopolamine and was, if not more, effective than galantamine, a modest inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase with nicotinic ACh receptor modulation. Conclusion:, The results of the present study show that DCP-LA ameliorates learning and memory deficits induced by amyloid-,1,40 peptide or scopolamine. DCP-LA may thus offer new hope for dementia patients. [source]