Age-dependent decrease of synaptic plasticity in the neocortex of alphaCaMKII mutant mice.
Synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) were studied in the visual cortex of mutant mice lacking alpha-calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (alphaCaMKII). In adult mutants, little LTD or LTP could be elicited using standard conditioning protocols. However, substantial LTD and LTP were induced in 4- to 5-week-old mutants. Thus, the reduction in cortical plasticity in alphaCaMKII (-/-) mice is conditional, with the relevant condition being postnatal age.
Kirkwood
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A
Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
Silva
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A
Bear
M F
MF
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity
D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases