Impaired hippocampal representation of space in CA1-specific NMDAR1 knockout mice.
To investigate the role of synaptic plasticity in the place-specific firing of the hippocampus, we have applied multiple electrode recording techniques to freely behaving mice with a CA1 pyramidal cell-specific knockout of the NMDAR1 gene. We have discovered that although the CA1 pyramidal cells of these mice retain place-related activity, there is a significant decrease in the spatial specificity of individual place fields. We have also found a striking deficit in the coordinated firing of pairs of neurons tuned to similar spatial locations. Pairs have uncorrelated firing even if their fields overlap. These results demonstrate that NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic plasticity is necessary for the proper representation of space in the CA1 region of the hippocampus.
McHugh
T J
TJ
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Center for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, USA.
Blum
K I
KI
Tsien
J Z
JZ
Tonegawa
S
S
Wilson
M A
MA
D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D004594:Electrophysiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000502:physiology*; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology
D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate