Long-term potentiation of thalamic input to the motor cortex induced by coactivation of thalamocortical and corticocortical afferents

1991 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1435-1441 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Iriki ◽  
C. Pavlides ◽  
A. Keller ◽  
H. Asanuma

1. Intracellular recordings were obtained from neurons in the motor cortex (MCx), in which excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) were evoked by microstimulation of the somatosensory cortex (SCx) and the ventrolateral nucleus (VL) of the thalamus. The effects of combined tetanic stimulation of SCx and VL on the amplitudes of these EPSPs were studied. 2. Amplitudes of both corticocortical (CC) and thalamocortical (TC) EPSPs were potentiated after combined tetanic stimulation. This potentiation occurred exclusively in neurons that were located in the superficial layers (II/III) and that received direct input from both the SCx and VL, with both inputs synapsing in close proximity to each other. In all cases, the potentiation lasted until the electrode went out of the cell (21 +/- 25 min, mean +/- SD) the longest being 90 min. We therefore refer to this potentiation as long-term potentiation (LTP). 3. Tetanic stimulation of the thalamus only did not produce LTP in neurons receiving direct input from the VL. 4. LTP was not induced in either CC or TC EPSPs in neurons located in layer V and/or in neurons receiving long-latency CC EPSPs. 5. It is concluded that TC input from the VL to the MCx is potentiated only when coactivated with the CC input from the SCx.

2000 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong-Tao Zhao ◽  
Krešimir Krnjević

In hippocampal slices, temporary (10–20 min) replacement of glucose with 10 mM 2-deoxyglucose is followed by marked and very sustained potentiation of EPSPs (2-DG LTP). To investigate its mechanism, we examined 2-DG's effect in CA1 neurons recorded with sharp 3 M KCl electrodes containing a strong chelator, 50 or 100 mM ethylene glycol-bis(β-aminoethyl ether)- N, N, N′, N′-tetraacetic acid (EGTA). In most cases, field EPSPs were simultaneously recorded and conventional LTP was also elicited in some cells by tetanic stimulation of stratum radiatum. 2-DG potentiated intracellular EPSP slopes by 48 ± 5.1% (SE) in nine cells recorded with plain KCl electrodes and by 52 ± 6.2% in seven cells recorded with EGTA-containing electrodes. In four of the latter cells, tetanic stimulation (twice 100 Hz for 1 s) failed to evoke LTP (2 ± 1.1%), although field EPSPs were clearly potentiated (by 28 ± 6.9%). Thus unlike tetanic LTP, 2-DG LTP is not readily prevented by postsynaptic intraneuronal injection of EGTA. These findings agree with other evidence that the rise in postsynaptic (somatic) [Ca2+]i caused by 2-DG is not the principal trigger for the subsequent 2-DG LTP and that it may be a purely presynaptic phenomenon.


1991 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Komatsu ◽  
S. Nakajima ◽  
K. Toyama

1. Intracellular recording was made from layer II-III cells in slice preparations of kitten (30-40 days old) visual cortex. Low-frequency (0.1 Hz) stimulation of white matter (WM) usually evoked an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) followed by an inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP). The postsynaptic potentials (PSPs) showed strong dependence on stimulus frequency. Early component of EPSP and IPSP evoked by weak stimulation both decreased monotonically at frequencies greater than 0.5-1 Hz. Strong stimulation similarly depressed the early EPSP at higher frequencies (greater than 2 Hz) and replaced the IPSP with a late EPSP, which had a maximum amplitude in the stimulus frequency range of 2-5 Hz. 2. Very weak WM stimulation sometimes evoked EPSPs in isolation from IPSPs. The falling phase of the EPSP revealed voltage dependence characteristic to the responses mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and was depressed by application of an NMDA antagonist DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (APV), whereas the rising phase of the EPSP was insensitive to APV. 3. The early EPSPs followed by IPSPs were insensitive to APV but were replaced with a slow depolarizing potential by application of a non-NMDA antagonist 6,7-dinitro-quinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX), indicating that the early EPSP is mediated by non-NMDA receptors. The slow depolarization was mediated by NMDA receptors because it was depressed by membrane hyperpolarization or addition of APV. 4. The late EPSP evoked by higher-frequency stimulation was abolished by APV, indicating that it is mediated by NMDA receptors, which are located either on the recorded cell or on presynaptic cells to the recorded cells. 5. Long-term potentiation (LTP) of EPSPs was examined in cells perfused with solutions containing 1 microM bicuculline methiodide (BIM), a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) antagonist. WM was stimulated at 2 Hz for 15 min as a conditioning stimulus to induce LTP, and the resultant changes were tested by low-frequency (0.1 Hz) stimulation of WM. 6. LTP of early EPSPs occurred in more than one-half of the cells (8/13) after strong conditioning stimulation. The rising slope of the EPSP was increased 1.6 times on average. 7. To test involvement of NMDA receptors in the induction of LTP in the early EPSP, the effect of conditioning stimulation was studied in a solution containing 100 microM APV, which was sufficient to block completely synaptic transmission mediated by NMDA receptors. LTP occurred in the same frequency and magnitude as in control solution.


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