scholarly journals Cannabinoids Modulate Synaptic Strength and Plasticity at Glutamatergic Synapses of Rat Prefrontal Cortex Pyramidal Neurons

2000 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 3287-3293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Auclair ◽  
Satoru Otani ◽  
Philippe Soubrie ◽  
Francis Crepel

Cannabinoids receptors have been reported to modulate synaptic transmission in many structures of the CNS, but yet little is known about their role in the prefrontal cortex where type I cannabinoid receptor (CB-1) are expressed. In this study, we tested first the acute effects of selective agonists and antagonist of CB-1 on glutamatergic excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in slices of rat prefrontal cortex (PFC). EPSCs were evoked in patch-clamped layer V pyramidal cells by stimulation of layer V afferents. Monosynaptic EPSCs were strongly depressed by bath application (1 μM) of the cannabinoid receptors agonists WIN55212-2 (−50.4 ± 8.8%) and CP55940 (−42.4 ± 10.9%). The CB-1 antagonist SR141716A reversed these effects. Unexpectedly, SR141716A alone produced a significant increase of glutamatergic synaptic transmission (+46.9 ± 11.2%), which could be partly reversed by WIN55212-2. In the presence of strontium in the bath, the frequency but not the amplitude of asynchronous synaptic events evoked in layer V pyramidal cells by stimulating layer V afferents, was markedly decreased (−54.2 ± 8%), indicating a presynaptic site of action of cannabinoids at these synapses. Tetanic stimulation (100 pulses at 100 Hz, 4 trains) induced in control condition, no changes ( n = 7/18), long-term depression (LTD; n = 6/18), or long-term potentiation (LTP; n = 5/18) of monosynaptic EPSCs evoked by stimulation of layer V afferents. When tetanus was applied in the presence of WIN 55,212-2 or SR141716-A (1 μM) in the bath, the proportion of “nonplastic” cells were not significantly changed ( n = 7/15 in both cases). For the plastic ones ( n = 8 in both cases), WIN 55,212-2 strongly favored LTD ( n = 7/8) at the apparent expense of LTP ( n = 1/8), whereas the opposite effect was observed with SR141716-A (7/8 LTP; 1/8 LTD). These results demonstrate that cannabinoids influence glutamatergic synaptic transmission and plasticity in the PFC of rodent.

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 205-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksey V. Zaitsev ◽  
Roger Anwyl

The induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) of excitatory postsynaptic currents was investigated in proximal synapses of layer 2/3 pyramidal cells of the rat medial prefrontal cortex. The spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) induction protocol of negative timing, with postsynaptic leading presynaptic stimulation of action potentials (APs), induced LTD as expected from the classical STDP rule. However, the positive STDP protocol of presynaptic leading postsynaptic stimulation of APs predominantly induced a presynaptically expressed LTD rather than the expected postsynaptically expressed LTP. Thus the induction of plasticity in layer 2/3 pyramidal cells does not obey the classical STDP rule for positive timing. This unusual STDP switched to a classical timing rule if the slow Ca2+-dependent, K+-mediated afterhyperpolarization (sAHP) was inhibited by the selective blocker N-trityl-3-pyridinemethanamine (UCL2077), by the β-adrenergic receptor agonist isoproterenol, or by the cholinergic agonist carbachol. Thus we demonstrate that neuromodulators can affect synaptic plasticity by inhibition of the sAHP. These findings shed light on a fundamental question in the field of memory research regarding how environmental and behavioral stimuli influence LTP, thereby contributing to the modulation of memory.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 8272-8281
Author(s):  
S Impey ◽  
G Wayman ◽  
Z Wu ◽  
D R Storm

Studies carried out with mammals and invertebrates suggest that Ca(2+)-sensitive adenylyl cyclases may be important for neuroplasticity. Long-term potentiation in the hippocampus requires increases in intracellular Ca2+ which are accompanied by elevated cyclic AMP (cAMP). Furthermore, activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase is required for the late stage of long-term potentiation in the CA1 region of the hippocampus, which is also sensitive to inhibitors of transcription. Therefore, some forms of synaptic plasticity may require coordinate regulation of transcription by Ca2+ and cAMP. In this study, we demonstrate that the expression of type I adenylyl cyclase in HEK-293 cells allows Ca2+ to stimulate reporter gene activity mediated through the cAMP response element. Furthermore, simultaneous activation by Ca2+ and isoproterenol caused synergistic stimulation of transcription in HEK-293 cells and cultured neurons. We propose that Ca2+ and neurotransmitter stimulation of type I adenylyl cyclase may play a role in synaptic plasticity by generating optimal cAMP signals for regulation of transcription.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 259
Author(s):  
Hiroki Toyoda ◽  
Ayano Katagiri ◽  
Takafumi Kato ◽  
Hajime Sato

The pesticide rotenone inhibits mitochondrial complex I and is thought to cause neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and cognitive disorders. However, little is known about the effects of rotenone on conditioned taste aversion memory. In the present study, we investigated whether intranasal administration of rotenone affects conditioned taste aversion memory in mice. We also examined how the intranasal administration of rotenone modulates synaptic transmission and plasticity in layer V pyramidal neurons of the mouse insular cortex that is critical for conditioned taste aversion memory. We found that the intranasal administration of rotenone impaired conditioned taste aversion memory to bitter taste. Regarding its cellular mechanisms, long-term depression (LTD) but not long-term potentiation (LTP) was impaired in rotenone-treated mice. Furthermore, spontaneous inhibitory synaptic currents and tonic GABA currents were decreased in layer V pyramidal neurons of rotenone-treated mice compared to the control mice. The impaired LTD observed in pyramidal neurons of rotenone-treated mice was restored by a GABAA receptor agonist muscimol. These results suggest that intranasal administration of rotenone decreases GABAergic synaptic transmission in layer V pyramidal neurons of the mouse insular cortex, the result of which leads to impairment of LTD and conditioned taste aversion memory.


2001 ◽  
Vol 305 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshinori Izaki ◽  
Masatoshi Takita ◽  
Thérèse M Jay ◽  
Hidekazu Kaneko ◽  
Shinya S Suzuki ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion S. Mercier ◽  
Vincent Magloire ◽  
Jonathan Cornford ◽  
Dimitri M. Kullmann

AbstractHippocampal interneurons located within stratum lacunosum-moleculare (SLM), which include neurogliaform (NGF) cells, mediate powerful feed-forward inhibition that can modulate spiking and plasticity in CA1 pyramidal cells. Despite evidence of long-term plasticity at excitatory inputs onto almost all other hippocampal interneuron subtypes, including stratum radiatum feed-forward interneurons, it is not known whether long-term potentiation (LTP) occurs in CA1 SLM interneurons. Here, we show that these interneurons exhibit Hebbian NMDA receptor-dependent LTP, and that Ca2+ influx through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels can also be sufficient for induction of plasticity. Furthermore, using an optogenetic dissection strategy, we find that selective stimulation of excitatory fibers from entorhinal cortex can induce LTP in SLM interneurons, whilst stimulation of thalamic afferents from the nucleus reuniens, also known to project to SLM, does not. Finally, we show that a mouse line selective for cortical NGF cells, where Cre recombinase is under the control of the neuron-derived neurotrophic factor (NDNF) promoter, can also be used to target these interneurons within the hippocampus, and that hippocampal NGF cells exhibit LTP. Recruitment of NGF cells can thus be persistently enhanced in an activity-dependent manner, implying that their role in gating dendritic signaling in pyramidal neurons is modifiable.Significance statementLong-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic transmission within the hippocampus is involved in memory formation and spatial navigation. While LTP has been extensively studied in excitatory principal cells, less is known about plasticity mechanisms in inhibitory interneurons, which represent a diverse population of cells. Here we characterize LTP in interneurons that mediate powerful feed-forward inhibition of pyramidal neuron distal dendrites, and show that this plasticity can be induced by afferents originating in the entorhinal cortex. Importantly, we identify at least a subset of these LTP-expressing interneurons as neurogliaform cells. The results shed light on this relatively understudied sub-type of hippocampal interneurons and show that their recruitment by extrinsic afferents can be modified in a use-dependent manner.


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