title: Induction of a calcium-dependent long-term enhancement of excitability in the rate olfactory bulb.
abstract: We have investigated whether a transient increase in extracellular calcium concentration is able to induce long-term modification of neuronal excitability in the olfactory bulb. High-calcium artificial cerebrospinal fluid containing picrotoxin (Ca-PTX solution) was applied locally near the mitral cell layer through a push-pull device for 10 min in anaesthetized rats. Changes in the neuronal excitability were monitored through electrically-evoked field potentials. Application of the Ca-PTX solution induced a rapid increase in the granule cell response amplitude, whereas mitral/tufted cells response amplitude increased more progressively and reached its maximum within a few hours. The increase in mitral/tufted cells response and granule cells response reached between 30 and 100% in experiments which lasted for 4-8 h. Pre-application of amino-phosphonovalerate (NMDA receptor blocker) potently reduced both short- and long-term enhancement produced by the Ca-PTX solution. Neither application of the high calcium solution alone nor the picrotoxin solution alone induced long-term changes. The results point out the possible importance of Ca2+ and NMDA receptors in persistent forms of olfactory bulb plasticity. Relevance of this phenomenon in normal olfactory bulb physiology remains to be examined.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiologie Neurosensorielle, Université Claude Bernard-Lyon 1, CNRS URA 180, Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elaagouby
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gervais
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D010852:Picrotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D014633:Valine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium; D010852:Picrotoxin; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D014633:Valine; C056639:2-amino-5-phosphopentanoic acid