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PubMed2005

The role of calmodulin as a signal integrator for synaptic plasticity.

Excitatory synapses in the brain show several forms of synaptic plasticity, including long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), which are initiated by increases in intracellular Ca(2+) that are generated through NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors or voltage-sensitive Ca(2+) channels. LTP depends on the coordinated regulation of an ensemble of enzymes, including Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II, adenylyl cyclase 1 and 8, and calcineurin, all of which are stimulated by calmodulin, a Ca(2+)-binding protein. In this review, we discuss the hypothesis that calmodulin is a central integrator of synaptic plasticity and that its unique regulatory properties allow the integration of several forms of signal transduction that are required for LTP and LTD.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Chronic oral nicotine normalizes dopaminergic function and synaptic plasticity in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-lesioned primates.

Our recent studies show that chronic oral nicotine partially protects against striatal damage in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-treated nonhuman primates. To identify the cellular changes associated with this protective action, we investigated the effects of nicotine treatment on stimulus-evoked dopamine release, dopamine turnover, and synaptic plasticity in striatum from lesioned and unlesioned animals. Monkeys were chronically (6 months) treated with nicotine in the drinking water and subsequently lesioned with the dopaminergic neurotoxin MPTP (6 months) while nicotine was continued. Nigrostriatal damage increased nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR)-mediated fractional dopamine release from residual terminals, primarily through changes in alpha3*/alpha6* nAChRs. In contrast, fractional receptor-evoked dopamine release was similar to control in unlesioned and lesioned animals with chronic oral nicotine. Long-term nicotine administration also attenuated the enhanced K(+)-evoked fractional dopamine release from synaptosomes of MPTP-lesioned animals, suggesting that nicotine treatment had a generalized effect on dopaminergic function. This premise was further supported by experiments showing that nicotine dosing decreased the elevated dopamine turnover that occurs after nigrostriatal damage. We next investigated changes in synaptic plasticity with lesioning and nicotine treatment. Nicotine treatment alone enhanced synaptic plasticity by lowering the threshold for long-term depression (LTD) in the corticostriatal pathway. MPTP lesioning led to a loss of LTD, a measure of short-term synaptic plasticity. In contrast, LTD was preserved in nicotine-treated lesioned animals. Thus, the present data show that the disruptions in striatal dopaminergic function after nigrostriatal damage were attenuated with chronic nicotine administration. These cellular alterations may underlie the ability of nicotine to maintain/restore normal function with nigrostriatal damage.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2001

Vasopressin reverses aluminum-induced impairment of synaptic plasticity in the rat dentate gyrus in vivo.

Aluminum (Al), an important neurotoxin, contributes to a variety of cognitive dysfunction and mental diseases. Previous studies have demonstrated that Al impairs hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, both LTP and LTD (long-term depression) were recorded in the same animal to investigate the Al-induced impairment of synaptic plasticity. Another aim of the present research was to verify whether the impairment of synaptic plasticity induced by Al could be reversed by vasopressin (VP) treatment. Neonatal Wistar rats were exposed to Al from parturition through adulthood (pre- and post-weaning) by the drinking of 0.3% aluminum chloride (AlCl(3)) solution. The input-output (I/O) function, paired-pulse reaction (PPR), excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) and population spike (PS) amplitude were measured in the dentate gyrus (DG) of adult rats (60-90 days) in response to stimulation applied to the lateral perforant path. The results showed: (1) Al reduced the amplitudes of both EPSP LTP (control: 132+/-7%, n=7; Al-exposed: 115+/-10%, n=8, P<0.05) and PS LTP (control: 242+/-18%, n=7; Al-exposed: 136+/-7%, n=8, P<0.01) significantly. The amplitudes of EPSP LTD (control: 82+/-6%, n=7; Al-exposed: 92+/-7%, n=8, P<0.05) and PS LTD (control: 81+/-4%, n=7; Al-exposed: 98+/-5%, n=8, P<0.05) were also decreased by Al treatment. The Al-induced impairments of PS LTP and PS LTD were more serious than that of EPSP LTP and EPSP LTD. (2) In control rats, VP had an increase in the PS LTP amplitude (control: 242+/-18%, n=7; control+VP: 358+/-23%, n=6, P<0.01), while it had no significant effects on PS LTD (control: 81+/-4%, n=7; control+VP: 76+/-7%, n=6, P>0.05). (3) In Al-exposed rats, VP had a significant increase in the amplitudes of both PS LTP (Al-exposed: 136+/-7%, n=8, Al-exposed+VP: 255+/-16%, n=6, P<0.01) and PS LTD (Al-exposed: 98+/-5%, n=8; Al-exposed+VP: 81+/-6%, n=6, P<0.05). After the application of VP, the range of synaptic plasticity (PS LTP+PS LTD) in Al-exposed rats increased from 38% to 174%, which surpassed that in control rats (161%). It was suggested that VP could reverse Al-induced impairment of synaptic plasticity and might be an effective medicine to cure Al-induced neurological disorders.

Aluminum Chloride↗
PubMed1997

Serotonin facilitates synaptic plasticity in kitten visual cortex: an in vitro study.

We have addressed the role of serotonin-2C (5-HT2C) receptors in the development and maintenance of synaptic plasticity in the kitten visual cortex. In visual cortical slices, taken from 40- to 80-day-old kittens, bath application of serotonin markedly facilitated the induction of both long-term depression (LTD) and long-term potentiation (LTP). Field potential responses to white matter stimulation were recorded from layer IV after a regime of low frequency stimulation (LFS; 1 Hz, 15 min), which reliably induced LTP or LTD in younger kittens (less than 30 days of age). At 40-80 days, this protocol almost never induced LTD or LTP in layer IV. However, in 50% of the visual cortical slices studied in 40-80-day-old kittens, LTD or LTP was induced, if serotonin (1 or 10 microM) was co-applied with LFS. No such serotonin facilitation of long-term plasticity was ever detected in > 120-day-old animals, indicating that serotonin facilitates synaptic plasticity within a defined period of visual cortical development. Serotonergic 5-HT2C receptors are likely to contribute to the synaptic plasticity observed in layer IV, since mesulergine, an antagonist of the 5-HT2C receptor, completely blocked synaptic modifications induced by the combination of low frequency stimulation and serotonin application.

Aging↗
PubMed1997

Lack of gonadotropin-positive feedback in the male rat is associated with lack of estrogen-induced synaptic plasticity in the arcuate nucleus.

We have demonstrated that estrogen induces synaptic reorganization in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus of female rats during the ovarian cycle and proposed that estrogen-induced synaptic retraction plays a role in the disinhibition of gonadotropin secretion that occurs during the afternoon of proestrus. This so-called positive feedback of gonadotropins is developmentally determined. It is present in female rats and absent in males. To confirm the role of the estrogen-induced synaptic retraction in positive feedback, we tested whether administration of estrogen to male rats also fails to induce synaptic remodeling of the arcuate nucleus. Male and female rats were gonadectomized and studied as follows. One month following gonadectomy, animals received either a single injection of estradiol (100 micrograms/animal in sesame oil; 12 males and 12 females) or vehicle (6 males and 6 females). Twenty-four hours following injections, all animals in the vehicle-injected group and 6 animals of each sex in the treatment groups were sacrificed, while the rest of the animals were killed 48 h following the hormone injections (6 per group). As expected, quantitative electron microscopic analysis of the female arcuate nuclei revealed that compared to oil-injected controls, estradiol induced drastic decreases in the overall synapse counts by 24 h (121 +/- 10 vs. 74 +/- 5 synapses/1,000 microns membrane; p < 0.05). Synaptic counts had recovered to control levels by 48 h. On the contrary, in males, estradiol treatment did not cause changes in the total synapse counts at either time. As a further control, the lack of an estrogen-induced gonadotropin surge in long-term castrate males was also confirmed. Our study confirmed that in males estradiol does not alter the net synaptology of the arcuate nucleus or cause gonadotropin positive feedback. This is in clear contradistinction to females which show both synaptic plasticity and gonadotropin-positive feedback upon receiving exogenous or endogenous estrogen. The lack of estrogen-induced synaptic plasticity may be an underlying mechanism in the abolishment of positive gonadotropin, feedback in developing males and the development of constant estrus in aging female rats.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

NMDA receptor subunit composition controls synaptic plasticity by regulating binding to CaMKII.

Calcium entry through postsynaptic NMDA-Rs and subsequent activation of CaMKII trigger synaptic plasticity in many brain regions. Active CaMKII can bind to NMDA-Rs, but the physiological role of this interaction is not well understood. Here, we test if association between active CaMKII and synaptic NMDA-Rs is required for synaptic plasticity. Switching synaptic NR2B-containing NMDA-Rs that bind CaMKII with high affinity with those containing NR2A, a subunit with low affinity for CaMKII, dramatically reduces LTP. Expression of NR2A with mutations that increase association to active CaMKII recovers LTP. Finally, driving into synapses NR2B with mutations that reduce association to active CaMKII prevents LTP. Spontaneous activity-driven potentiation shows similar results. We conclude that association between active CaMKII and NR2B is required for different forms of synaptic enhancement. The switch from NR2B to NR2A content in synaptic NMDA-Rs normally observed in many brain regions may contribute to reduced plasticity by controlling the binding of active CaMKII.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Genetic dissection of structural and functional components of synaptic plasticity. I. Fasciclin II controls synaptic stabilization and growth.

The glutamatergic neuromuscular synapse in Drosophila forms and differentiates into distinct boutons in the embryo and grows by sprouting new boutons throughout larval life. We demonstrate that two axons form approximately 18 boutons on muscles 7 and 6 by hatching and grow to approximately 180 boutons by third instar. We further show that, after synapse formation, the homophilic cell adhesion molecule Fasciclin II (Fas II) is localized both pre- and postsynaptically where it controls synapse stabilization. In FasII null mutants, synapse formation is normal, but boutons then retract during larval development. Synapse elimination and resulting lethality are rescued by transgenes that drive Fas II expression both pre- and postsynaptically; driving Fas II expression on either side alone is insufficient. Fas II can also control synaptic growth; various FasII alleles lead to either an increase or decrease in sprouting, depending upon the level of Fas II.

Alleles↗
PubMed2003

The influence of developmental periods of sodium valproate exposure on synaptic plasticity in the CA1 region of rat hippocampus.

The effects of chronic sodium valproate (VPA) exposure during different developmental periods on synaptic plasticity were studied in the hippocampal CA1 area. Rats were exposed to VPA (300 mg/kg per day, intraperitoneal) over different developmental intervals: (1). prenatal exposure (PR group); (2). from parturition to weaning (PW group); (3). from pregnancy day 1 to weaning (PRW group). At postnatal day 22-28, field excitatory postsynaptic potentials were recorded in the CA1 area of hippocampal slices. We found that VPA exposure in the PR and PRW groups significantly impaired long-term potentiation (LTP), long-term depression (LTD) and paired-pulse facilitation (PPF). However, exposure during lactation (PW group) only impaired LTP and had no significant effect on LTD and PPF. These results suggested that VPA exposure during lactation had the least deficits on synaptic plasticity, while VPA exposure in the PR and PRW groups seriously impaired synaptic plasticity and should be avoided.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

A biophysical model of bidirectional synaptic plasticity: dependence on AMPA and NMDA receptors.

In many regions of the brain, including the mammalian cortex, the magnitude and direction of activity-dependent changes in synaptic strength depend on the frequency of presynaptic stimulation (synaptic plasticity), as well as the history of activity at those synapses (metaplasticity). We present a model of a molecular mechanism of bidirectional synaptic plasticity based on the observation that long-term synaptic potentiation (LTP) and long-term synaptic depression (LTD) correlate with the phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of sites on the alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor subunit protein GluR1. The primary assumption of the model, for which there is wide experimental support, is that postsynaptic calcium concentration and consequent activation of calcium-dependent protein kinases and phosphatases are the triggers for the induction of LTP/LTD. As calcium influx through the n-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor plays a fundamental role in the induction of LTP/LTD, changes in the properties of NMDA receptor-mediated calcium influx will dramatically affect activity-dependent synaptic plasticity (metaplasticity). We demonstrate that experimentally observed metaplasticity can be accounted for by activity-dependent regulation of NMDA receptor subunit composition and function. Our model produces a frequency-dependent LTP/LTD curve with a sliding synaptic modification threshold similar to what has been proposed theoretically by Bienenstock, Cooper, and Munro and observed experimentally.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Cholinergic neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity concerning memory processing.

The brain is able to change the synaptic strength in response to stimuli that leave a memory trace. Long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) are forms of activity-dependent synaptic plasticity proposed to underlie memory. The induction of LTP appears mediated by glutamate acting on AMPA and then on NMDA receptors. Cholinergic muscarinic agonists facilitate learning and memory. Acetylcholine depolarizes pyramidal neurons, reduces inhibition, upregulates NMDA channels and activates the phosphoinositide cascade. Postsynaptic Ca2+ rises and stimulates Ca-dependent PK, promoting synaptic changes. Electroencephalographic desynchronization and hippocampal theta rhythm are related to learning and memory, are inducible by cholinergic agonists and elicited by hippocampal cholinergic terminals. Their loss results in memory deficits. Hence, cholinergic pathways may act synergically with glutamatergic transmission, regulating and leading to synaptic plasticity. The stimulation that induces plasticity in vivo has not been established. The patterns for LTP/LTD induction in vitro may be due to the loss of ascending cholinergic inputs. As a rat explores pyramidal cells fire bursts that could be relevant to plasticity.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Learning and hippocampal synaptic plasticity in streptozotocin-diabetic rats: interaction of diabetes and ageing.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Diabetes mellitus leads to functional and structural changes in the brain which appear to be most pronounced in the elderly. Because the pathogenesis of brain ageing and that of diabetic complications show close analogies, it is hypothesized that the effects of diabetes and ageing on the brain interact. Our study examined the effects of diabetes and ageing on learning and hippocampal synaptic plasticity in rats. METHODS: Young adult (5 months) and aged (2 years) rats were examined after 8 weeks of streptozotocin-diabetes. Learning was tested in a Morris water maze. Synaptic plasticity was tested ex vivo, in hippocampal slices, in response to trains of stimuli of different frequency (0.05 to 100 Hz). RESULTS: Statistically significant learning impairments were observed in young adult diabetic rats compared with controls. These impairments were even greater in aged diabetic animals. In hippocampal slices from young adult diabetic animals long-term potentiation induced by 100 Hz stimulation was impaired compared with controls (138 vs 218% of baseline). In contrast, long-term depression induced by 1 Hz stimulation was enhanced in slices from diabetic rats compared with controls (79 vs 92%). In non-diabetic aged rats synaptic responses were 149 and 93% of baseline in response to 100 and 1 Hz stimulation, compared with 106 and 75% in aged diabetic rats. CONCLUSION/INTERPRETATION: Both diabetes and ageing affect learning and hippocampal synaptic plasticity. The cumulative deficits in learning and synaptic plasticity in aged diabetic rats indicate that the effects of diabetes and ageing on the brain could interact.

Aging↗
PubMed1994

Multideterminant role of calcium in hippocampal synaptic plasticity.

Hippocampal CA1 cells possess several varieties of long-lasting synaptic plasticity: two different forms of long-term potentiation (LTP) and at least one form of long-term depression (LTD). All forms of synaptic plasticity are induced by afferent activation, all involve Ca2+ influx, all can be blocked by Ca2+ chelators, and all activate Ca(2+)-dependent mechanisms. The question arises as how different physiological responses can be initiated by activation of the same second messenger. We consider two hypotheses which could account for these phenomena: voltage-dependent differences in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration acting upon Ca2+ substrates of differing Ca2+ affinities and compartmentalization of the Ca2+ and its substrates.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

[Synaptic plasticity and the glio-synaptic relationships of the rat hippocampus in age-related memory dysfunction].

Qualitative and quantitative studies of structural changes of synaptic contacts and processes were performed in aged memory-non-impaired an aged memory-impaired rats compared to young rats in the stratum lucidum of the hippocampus. Aged memory-impaired rats (compared with young adults) showed alteration in the ultrastructure of mossy fiber expansions and the loss of axospinous synapses formed by them. These changes were more pronounced than in memory-non-impaired rats. There were no significant differences between aged memory impaired and aged memory non-impaired rats except for a significant decrease in volume density of postsynaptic density in axodendritic synapses formed by mossy fiber expansions in memory impaired animals.

Aging↗
PubMed2004

Metabotropic glutamate receptors contribute to neocortical synaptic plasticity in vivo.

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) have been shown to be important for hippocampus-dependent memory, as well as activity-dependent synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus. In this study, we examined the role of mGluRs in the induction of two forms of activity-dependent synaptic plasticity, long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), in the neocortex of awake, freely-moving rats. The mGluR antagonist AIDA was administered during the induction of LTP or LTD in the motor cortex. There was a 50% reduction of LTP induced in the early component of the evoked response, but there was no effect on the late component and no effect on the induction of LTD. Thus, mGluRs contribute to at least one form of activity dependent synaptic plasticity in the neocortex.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1997

Regulation of synaptic plasticity by mGluR1 studied in vivo in mGluR1 mutant mice.

The role of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) in synaptic plasticity was investigated in vivo in the intact hippocampus of mutant mice lacking this receptor. In a previous study we showed reduced long-term potentiation (LTP) in the dentate gyrus of mGluR1 -/- mice in vivo, but not when LTP was studied in a slice preparation. A possible explanation of this difference is that dentate neurons receive more inhibitory synaptic drive in vivo than in slice preparation where many inhibitory axon collaterals are lost. We report here that another form of synaptic plasticity, paired-pulse depression of the population spike, is also abnormal in the dentate gyrus of mGluR1-deficient mice when tested in vivo. In wild-type mice, stimulation of the medial perforant path produced paired-pulse depression of inter-pulse intervals (IPIs) up to 30 ms. Mutant mGluR1, on the other hand, showed a significantly longer IPI depression, up to 50 ms. Paired-pulse depression results from the activation of inhibitory interneurons. The GABA(B) agonist baclofen, acting presynaptically on the GABA interneurons, attenuated paired-pulse depression and allowed for a normal and stable LTP in mGluR1 mutant mice. These findings suggest an indirect role for mGluR1 in synaptic plasticity via a regulation of GABA inhibition.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1996

The nitric oxide-cyclic GMP pathway and synaptic plasticity in the rat superior cervical ganglion.

1. We have investigated the possibility that nitric oxide (NO) and soluble guanylyl cyclase, an enzyme that synthesizes guanosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic GMP) in response to NO, contributes to plasticity of synaptic transmission in the rat isolated superior cervical ganglion (SCG). 2. Exposure of ganglia to the NO donor, nitroprusside, caused a concentration-dependent accumulation of cyclic GMP which was augmented in the presence of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor, 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine. The compound, 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), a selective inhibitor of soluble guanylyl cyclase, completely blocked this cyclic GMP response. 3. As assessed by extracellular recording, nitroprusside (100 microM) and another NO donor, S-nitrosoglutathione (30 microM) increased the efficacy of ganglionic synaptic transmission in response to electrical stimulation of the preganglionic nerve, an effect that was reversible and which could be replicated by the cyclic GMP analogue, 8-bromo-cyclic GMP. Ganglionic depolarizations resulting from stimulation of nicotinic receptors with carbachol were not increased by nitroprusside. The potentiating actions of the NO donors on synaptic transmission, but not that of 8-bromo-cyclic GMP, were inhibited by ODQ. 4. Brief tetanic stimulation of the preganglionic nerve resulted in a long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic transmission that was unaffected by ODQ, either in the absence or presence of the NO synthase inhibitor, NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NOARG, 100 microM). A lack of influence of L-NOARG was confirmed in intracellular recordings of LTP of the excitatory postsynaptic potential. Furthermore, under conditions where tetanically-induced LTP was saturated, nitroprusside was still able to potentiate synaptic transmission, as judged from extracellular recording. 5. We conclude that NO is capable of potentiating ganglionic neurotransmission and this effect is mediated through the stimulation of soluble guanylyl cyclase and the accumulation of cyclic GMP. However, this potentiation is distinct from LTP of nicotinic synaptic transmission, in which neither NO nor soluble guanylyl cyclase appear to participate.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Aging and synaptic plasticity: a review.

Aging affects all systems, but the brain seems to be particularly vulnerable to the action of negative, age-dependent factors. A gradual loss of memory functions is one of the earliest and most widespread consequences of brain aging. The causes for such impairment are still unclear. Long-term potentiation (LTP) is one form of neural plasticity, which has been proposed as the cellular correlate for memory. LTP is affected by aging, and such alteration might be causally related to memory dysfunction. In the present paper, we review the evidence sustaining the existence of a causal link between cognitive and LTP impairments, as well as the possible mechanisms involved. New results indicate a possible involvement of a deficient reinforcement of LTP by affective influences.

Aging↗