title: Locus coeruleus potentiation of dentate gyrus responses: evidence for two systems.
abstract: Glutamate activation of the locus coeruleus (LC) and norepinephrine (NE) have both been shown to potentiate the perforant path (PP)-evoked population spike. This potentiation may be short-lasting, the population spike returning to baseline levels within minutes after NE-application or LC activation, or can be long-lasting, persisting 20 minutes or more after termination of the NE or glutamate manipulation. In the present study LC electrical stimulation (333 Hz, 15 msec) initiated 40 msec prior to a PP stimulus reliably caused short-lasting potentiation of the dentate gyrus population spike amplitude (mean maximal = 161%, N = 22). With 50 LC-PP pairings a long-lasting potentiation (greater than 30 min after offset of LC stimulation) was seen in 10/22 experiments. Propranolol (20-30 mg/kg IP) did not block the potentiating effect of LC electrical simulation but completely suppressed the potentiating effect of glutamate activation of the LC in the same animals (N = 5). The beta receptor dependence of short-and long-lasting hippocampal NE potentiation has been previously demonstrated. The inability of a beta receptor antagonist to attenuate the potentiation induced by LC electrical stimulation suggests there are two distinct systems. Both the beta-NE-dependent and the beta-NE-independent system are capable of inducing long-lasting potentiation of the PP-evoked potential.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John's, Canada.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Harley
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Milway
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lacaille
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008125:Locus Coeruleus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D011433:Propranolol / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011943:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D011943:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta; D011433:Propranolol; D009638:Norepinephrine