title: Dopamine-dependent synaptic plasticity in striatum during in vivo development.
abstract: The neurotransmitters dopamine (DA) and glutamate in the striatum play key roles in movement and cognition, and they are implicated in disorders of the basal ganglia such as Parkinson's disease. Excitatory synapses in striatum undergo a form of developmental plasticity characterized by a decrease in glutamate release probability. Here we demonstrate that this form of synaptic plasticity is DA and DA D2 receptor dependent. Analysis of spontaneous synaptic responses indicates that a presynaptic mechanism involving inhibition of neurotransmitter release underlies the developmental plasticity. We suggest that a major role of DA in the striatum is to initiate mechanisms that regulate the efficacy of excitatory striatal synapses, producing a decrease in glutamate release.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Center for Molecular Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University Medical School, Nashville, TN 37232-0615, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Low
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Grandy
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Lovinger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000502:physiology; D006892:Hydroxydopamines; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*; D013779:Tetrodotoxin / Q000494:pharmacology; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006892:Hydroxydopamines; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D013779:Tetrodotoxin; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase; D004298:Dopamine