scholarly journals Optogenetic silencing of immature and mature neurons in dentate gyrus to assess their roles in memory discriminations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milenna T. van Dijk ◽  
Zejia Angel Yu ◽  
Younghun Lim ◽  
René Hen ◽  
André A. Fenton

ABSTRACTDiscriminating similar memories and events depends on the dentate gyrus region of the hippocampus. This region is also distinctive because neurogenesis continues in adulthood. Whether both mature and immature granule cells play a role in memory discrimination, and whether the roles are distinct is actively investigated. Here we demonstrate that manipulating either mature or immature granule cells can impair discrimination of similar active place avoidance memories, but the manipulations have different effects. We also observe that prior experience modulates which memories are compromised by inactivation of immature neurons. These data demonstrate the importance of the dentate gyrus network of cells for memory discrimination.

2004 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 1036-1049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitte van Zundert ◽  
Francisco J. Alvarez ◽  
Juan Carlos Tapia ◽  
Hermes H. Yeh ◽  
Emilio Diaz ◽  
...  

Microtubules have been proposed to interact with gephyrin/glycine receptors (GlyRs) in synaptic aggregates. However, the consequence of microtubule disruption on the structure of postsynaptic GlyR/gephyrin clusters is controversial and possible alterations in function are largely unknown. In this study, we have examined the physiological and morphological properties of GlyR/gephyrin clusters after colchicine treatment in cultured spinal neurons during development. In immature neurons (5-7 DIV), disruption of microtubules resulted in a 33 ± 4% decrease in the peak amplitude and a 72 ± 15% reduction in the frequency of spontaneous glycinergic miniature postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) recorded in whole cell mode. However, similar colchicine treatments resulted in smaller effects on 10-12 DIV neurons and no effect on mature neurons (15-17 DIV). The decrease in glycinergic mIPSC amplitude and frequency reflects postsynaptic actions of colchicine, since postsynaptic stabilization of microtubules with GTP prevented both actions and similar reductions in mIPSC frequency were obtained by modifying the Cl- driving force to obtain parallel reductions in mIPSC amplitude. Confocal microscopy revealed that colchicine reduced the average length and immunofluorescence intensity of synaptic gephyrin/GlyR clusters in immature (approximately 30%) and intermediate (approximately 15%) neurons, but not in mature clusters. Thus the structural and functional changes of postsynaptic gephyrin/GlyR clusters after colchicine treatment were tightly correlated. Finally, RT-PCR, kinetic analysis and picrotoxin blockade of glycinergic mIPSCs indicated a reorganization of the postsynaptic region from containing both α2β and α1β GlyRs in immature neurons to only α1β GlyRs in mature neurons. Microtubule disruption preferentially affected postsynaptic sites containing α2β-containing synaptic receptors.


2011 ◽  
Vol 1399 ◽  
pp. 66-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajnalka Ábrahám ◽  
Zsófia Richter ◽  
Csilla Gyimesi ◽  
Zsolt Horváth ◽  
József Janszky ◽  
...  

1998 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N. Lieberman ◽  
Istvan Mody

Lieberman, David N. and Istvan Mody. Substance P enhances NMDA channel function in hippocampal dentate gyrus granule cells. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 113–119, 1998. Substance P (SP)–containing afferents and the NK-1 tachykinin receptor to which SP binds are present in the dentate gyrus of the rat; however, direct actions of SP on principal cells have not been demonstrated in this brain region. We have examined the effect of SP on N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) channels from acutely isolated dentate gyrus granule cells of adult rat hippocampus to assess the ability of SP to regulate glutamatergic input. SP produces a robust enhancement of single NMDA channel function that is mimicked by the NK-1–selective agonist Sar9, Met(O2)11-SP. The SP-induced prolongation of NMDA channel openings is prevented by the selective NK-1 receptor antagonist (+)-(2 S,3 S)-3-(2-methoxybenzylamino)-2-phenylpiperidine (CP-99,994). Calcium influx or activation of protein kinase C were not required for the SP-induced increase in NMDA channel open durations. The dramatic enhancement of excitatory amino acid–mediated excitability by SP places this neuropeptide in a key position to gate activation of hippocampal network activity.


2010 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 1490-1500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert F. Hunt ◽  
Stephen W. Scheff ◽  
Bret N. Smith

Posttraumatic epilepsy is a frequent consequence of brain trauma, but relatively little is known about how neuronal circuits are chronically altered after closed head injury. We examined whether local recurrent excitatory synaptic connections form between dentate granule cells in mice 8–12 wk after cortical contusion injury. Mice were monitored for behavioral seizures shortly after brain injury and ≤10 wk postinjury. Injury-induced seizures were observed in 15% of mice, and spontaneous seizures were observed weeks later in 40% of mice. Timm's staining revealed mossy fiber sprouting into the inner molecular layer of the dorsal dentate gyrus ipsilateral to the injury in 95% of mice but not contralateral to the injury or in uninjured controls. Whole cell patch-clamp recordings were made from granule cells in isolated hippocampal brain slices. Cells in slices with posttraumatic mossy fiber sprouting had an increased excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) frequency compared with cells in slices without sprouting from injured and control animals ( P < 0.001). When perfused with Mg2+-free artificial cerebrospinal fluid containing 100 μM picrotoxin, these cells had spontaneous bursts of EPSCs and action potentials. Focal glutamate photostimulation of the granule cell layer evoked a burst of EPSCs and action potentials indicative of recurrent excitatory connections in granule cells of slices with mossy fiber sprouting. In granule cells of slices without sprouting from injured animals and controls, spontaneous or photostimulation-evoked epileptiform activity was never observed. These results suggest that a new regionally localized excitatory network forms between dentate granule cells near the injury site within weeks after cortical contusion head injury.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 205873921879670
Author(s):  
Jin Wang ◽  
Xinyi Li ◽  
Huisheng Wu ◽  
Jianjuan Ke ◽  
Zongze Zhang ◽  
...  

Anesthetics are considered to be one of the important inducing factors of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). The hippocampal region of the rat is one of the action sites of general anesthesia drugs. L 655,708, a reverse agonist of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor, can significantly improve short-term memory dysfunction in mice after anesthetized with isoflurane. So the purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of L-655,708 on expression of GABA, glutamate (GLU), and beta-endorphin (β-EP) in the dentate gyrus region of the hippocampus and cognition of rats anesthetized with propofol. In all, 30 male Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats were randomly allocated into the control group, sham group, and L-655,708 group, with 10 in each group. The cognitive function of rats was measured by Morris water maze before and 1 h after administration. Then the rats were sacrificed for brain tissues. Immunohistochemistry was used to study the expression of GABA, GLU, and β-EP in the hippocampus of anesthetized rats in each group. Compared with the control group, the latency of the sham group and L-655,708 group were significantly prolonged after administration ( P < 0.05). However, L-655,708 could shorten the prolonged latency ( P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in times of accessing original platform area between the three groups before and after medication ( P > 0.05). The expression level of GABA in the dentate gyrus region of hippocampus of rats in the sham group was significantly higher than that in the control group ( P < 0.05), while the expression level in the L-655,708 group was significantly lower than that in the sham group ( P < 0.05). No significant difference was found in the expression of GLU in the dentate gyrus region of hippocampus of rats in each group ( P > 0.05). Compared with the control group, the expression of β-EP was significantly lower in the dentate gyrus region of the hippocampus of sham group rats ( P < 0.05). However, the expression of β-EP in the L-655,708 group was significantly higher than that in the sham group ( P < 0.05). Cognitive dysfunction in rats anesthetized with propofol may be related to high expression of GABA and low expression of β-EP in the hippocampus. The mechanism of L-655,708 in reducing the cognitive impairment in propofol anesthetized rats may be bound up with down-regulating the expression of GABA and increasing the expression of β-EP in the hippocampus.


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