scholarly journals Neuronal Activity Causes Rapid Changes of Lateral Amygdala Neuronal Membrane Properties and Reduction of Synaptic Integration and Synaptic Plasticity In Vivo

2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (16) ◽  
pp. 6108-6120 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Rosenkranz
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Dewell ◽  
Fabrizio Gabbiani

Brains processes information through the coordinated efforts of billions of individual neurons, each encoding a small part of the overall information stream. Central to this is how neurons integrate and transform complex patterns of synaptic inputs. The neuronal membrane impedance sets the gain and timing for synaptic integration, determining a neuron's ability to discriminate between synaptic input patterns. Using single and dual dendritic recordings in vivo, pharmacology, and computational modeling, we characterized the membrane impedance of a collision detection neuron in the grasshopper, Schistocerca americana. We examined how the cellular properties of the lobula giant movement detector (LGMD) neuron are tuned to enable the discrimination of synaptic input patterns key to its role in collision detection. We found that two common active conductances gH and gM, mediated respectively by hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide gated (HCN) channels and by muscarine sensitive M-type K+ channels, promote broadband integration with high temporal precision over the LGMD's natural range of membrane potentials and synaptic input frequencies. Additionally, we found that the LGMD's branching morphology increased the gain and decreased delays associated with the mapping of synaptic input currents to membrane potential. We investigated whether other branching dendritic morphologies fulfill a similar function and found this to be true for a wide range of morphologies, including those of neocortical pyramidal neurons and cerebellar Purkinje cells. These findings further our understanding of the integration properties of individual neurons by showing the unexpected role played by two widespread active conductances and by dendritic morphology in shaping synaptic integration.


2020 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. e2020810118
Author(s):  
Ye Wang ◽  
Wing-Yu Fu ◽  
Kit Cheung ◽  
Kwok-Wang Hung ◽  
Congping Chen ◽  
...  

Hippocampal synaptic plasticity is important for learning and memory formation. Homeostatic synaptic plasticity is a specific form of synaptic plasticity that is induced upon prolonged changes in neuronal activity to maintain network homeostasis. While astrocytes are important regulators of synaptic transmission and plasticity, it is largely unclear how they interact with neurons to regulate synaptic plasticity at the circuit level. Here, we show that neuronal activity blockade selectively increases the expression and secretion of IL-33 (interleukin-33) by astrocytes in the hippocampal cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) subregion. This IL-33 stimulates an increase in excitatory synapses and neurotransmission through the activation of neuronal IL-33 receptor complex and synaptic recruitment of the scaffold protein PSD-95. We found that acute administration of tetrodotoxin in hippocampal slices or inhibition of hippocampal CA1 excitatory neurons by optogenetic manipulation increases IL-33 expression in CA1 astrocytes. Furthermore, IL-33 administration in vivo promotes the formation of functional excitatory synapses in hippocampal CA1 neurons, whereas conditional knockout of IL-33 in CA1 astrocytes decreases the number of excitatory synapses therein. Importantly, blockade of IL-33 and its receptor signaling in vivo by intracerebroventricular administration of its decoy receptor inhibits homeostatic synaptic plasticity in CA1 pyramidal neurons and impairs spatial memory formation in mice. These results collectively reveal an important role of astrocytic IL-33 in mediating the negative-feedback signaling mechanism in homeostatic synaptic plasticity, providing insights into how astrocytes maintain hippocampal network homeostasis.


2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 2398-2408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan P. Staff ◽  
Hae-Yoon Jung ◽  
Tara Thiagarajan ◽  
Michael Yao ◽  
Nelson Spruston

Action potentials are the end product of synaptic integration, a process influenced by resting and active neuronal membrane properties. Diversity in these properties contributes to specialized mechanisms of synaptic integration and action potential firing, which are likely to be of functional significance within neural circuits. In the hippocampus, the majority of subicular pyramidal neurons fire high-frequency bursts of action potentials, whereas CA1 pyramidal neurons exhibit regular spiking behavior when subjected to direct somatic current injection. Using patch-clamp recordings from morphologically identified neurons in hippocampal slices, we analyzed and compared the resting and active membrane properties of pyramidal neurons in the subiculum and CA1 regions of the hippocampus. In response to direct somatic current injection, three subicular firing types were identified (regular spiking, weak bursting, and strong bursting), while all CA1 neurons were regular spiking. Within subiculum strong bursting neurons were found preferentially further away from the CA1 subregion. Input resistance ( R N), membrane time constant (τm), and depolarizing “sag” in response to hyperpolarizing current pulses were similar in all subicular neurons, while R N and τm were significantly larger in CA1 neurons. The first spike of all subicular neurons exhibited similar action potential properties; CA1 action potentials exhibited faster rising rates, greater amplitudes, and wider half-widths than subicular action potentials. Therefore both the resting and active properties of CA1 pyramidal neurons are distinct from those of subicular neurons, which form a related class of neurons, differing in their propensity to burst. We also found that both regular spiking subicular and CA1 neurons could be transformed into a burst firing mode by application of a low concentration of 4-aminopyridine, suggesting that in both hippocampal subfields, firing properties are regulated by a slowly inactivating, D-type potassium current. The ability of all subicular pyramidal neurons to burst strengthens the notion that they form a single neuronal class, sharing a burst generating mechanism that is stronger in some cells than others.


2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 618-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvain Crochet ◽  
Pablo Fuentealba ◽  
Youssouf Cissé ◽  
Igor Timofeev ◽  
Mircea Steriade

2000 ◽  
Vol 203 (4) ◽  
pp. 705-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.L. McLean ◽  
K.T. Sillar

The possible involvement of the free radical gas nitric oxide (NO) in the modulation of spinal rhythm-generating networks has been studied using Xenopus laevis larvae. Using NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry, three putative populations of nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-containing cells were identified in the brainstem. The position and morphology of the largest and most caudal population suggested that a proportion of these neurons is reticulospinal. The possible contribution of nitrergic neurons to the control of swimming activity was examined by manipulating exogenous and endogenous NO concentrations in vivo with an NO donor (SNAP, 100–500 micromol l(−)(1)) and NOS inhibitors (l-NAME and l-NNA, 0.5-5 mmol l(−)(1)), respectively. In the presence of SNAP, swim episode duration decreased and cycle period increased, whereas the NOS inhibitors had the opposite effects. We conclude from these data that the endogenous release of NO from brainstem neurons extrinsic to the spinal cord of Xenopus laevis larvae exerts a continuous modulatory influence on swimming activity, functioning like a ‘brake’. Although the exact level at which NO impinges upon the swimming rhythm generator has yet to be determined, the predominantly inhibitory effect of NO suggests that the underlying mechanisms of NO action could involve modulation of synaptic transmission and/or direct effects on neuronal membrane properties.


2004 ◽  
Vol 367 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunter P. Eckert ◽  
Jan-Henning Keller ◽  
Claudia Jourdan ◽  
Michael Karas ◽  
Dietrich A. Volmer ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 354-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Xing Ge ◽  
Ying-Ying Lin ◽  
Qian-Qian Bi ◽  
Yu-Juan Chen

Background: Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) usually suffer from cognitive deficits and recurrent seizures. Brivaracetam (BRV) is a novel anti-epileptic drug (AEDs) recently used for the treatment of partial seizures with or without secondary generalization. Different from other AEDs, BRV has some favorable properties on synaptic plasticity. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the neuroprotective mechanism of BRV on synaptic plasticity in experimental TLE rats. Methods: The effect of chronic treatment with BRV (10 mg/kg) was assessed on Pilocarpine induced TLE model through measurement of the field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) in vivo. Differentially expressed synaptic vesicle protein 2A (SV2A) were identified with immunoblot. Then, fast phosphorylation of synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP-25) during long-term potentiation (LTP) induction was performed to investigate the potential roles of BRV on synaptic plasticity in the TLE model. Results: An increased level of SV2A accompanied by a depressed LTP in the hippocampus was shown in epileptic rats. Furthermore, BRV treatment continued for more than 30 days improved the over-expression of SV2A and reversed the synaptic dysfunction in epileptic rats. Additionally, BRV treatment alleviates the abnormal SNAP-25 phosphorylation at Ser187 during LTP induction in epileptic ones, which is relevant to the modulation of synaptic vesicles exocytosis and voltagegated calcium channels. Conclusion: BRV treatment ameliorated the over-expression of SV2A in the hippocampus and rescued the synaptic dysfunction in epileptic rats. These results identify the neuroprotective effect of BRV on TLE model.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Mensch ◽  
Jade Dunot ◽  
Sandy M. Yishan ◽  
Samuel S. Harris ◽  
Aline Blistein ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing is central to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) etiology. As early cognitive alterations in AD are strongly correlated to abnormal information processing due to increasing synaptic impairment, it is crucial to characterize how peptides generated through APP cleavage modulate synapse function. We previously described a novel APP processing pathway producing η-secretase-derived peptides (Aη) and revealed that Aη–α, the longest form of Aη produced by η-secretase and α-secretase cleavage, impaired hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) ex vivo and neuronal activity in vivo. Methods With the intention of going beyond this initial observation, we performed a comprehensive analysis to further characterize the effects of both Aη-α and the shorter Aη-β peptide on hippocampus function using ex vivo field electrophysiology, in vivo multiphoton calcium imaging, and in vivo electrophysiology. Results We demonstrate that both synthetic peptides acutely impair LTP at low nanomolar concentrations ex vivo and reveal the N-terminus to be a primary site of activity. We further show that Aη-β, like Aη–α, inhibits neuronal activity in vivo and provide confirmation of LTP impairment by Aη–α in vivo. Conclusions These results provide novel insights into the functional role of the recently discovered η-secretase-derived products and suggest that Aη peptides represent important, pathophysiologically relevant, modulators of hippocampal network activity, with profound implications for APP-targeting therapeutic strategies in AD.


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