Newly learned auditory responses mediated by NMDA receptors in the owl inferior colliculus.
Alignment of auditory and visual receptive fields in the optic tectum of the barn owl (Tyto alba) is maintained through experience-dependent modification of auditory responses in the external nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICX), which provides auditory input to the tectum. Newly learned tectal auditory responses, induced by altered visual experience, were found to be pharmacologically distinct from normal responses expressed at the same tectal sites. N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists administered systemically or applied locally in the ICX reduced learned responses more than normal responses. This differential blockade was not observed with non-NMDA or broad-spectrum antagonists. Thus, NMDA receptors preferentially mediate the expression of novel neuronal responses induced by experience during development.
Feldman
D E
DE
Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA 94305-5401, USA. feldman@brio.stanford.edu
Brainard
M S
MS
Knudsen
E I
EI
D015763:2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate / Q000494:pharmacology; D018750:6-Cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D003975:Diazepam / Q000494:pharmacology; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D007245:Inferior Colliculi / Q000502:physiology*; D007649:Ketamine / Q000494:pharmacology; D007736:Kynurenic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D007858:Learning; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*; D013017:Sound Localization / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology
D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D007649:Ketamine; D018750:6-Cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione; D015763:2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate; D007736:Kynurenic Acid; D003975:Diazepam