title: Cholinergic plasticity in the hippocampus.
abstract: Tests were made for use-dependent plasticity in the cholinergic projections to hippocampus. Transient infusion of the cholinergic agonist carbachol into hippocampal slices induced rhythmic activity that persisted for hours after washout. Comparable effects were obtained with physostigmine, a drug that blocks acetylcholine breakdown and thereby enhances cholinergic transmission. It thus seems that activation of cholinergic synapses induces lasting changes in hippocampal physiology. Two lines of evidence indicated that cholinergic synapses are also the sites at which the plasticity is expressed. First, the induction and expression of the rhythms were not blocked by the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist D-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid, indicating that a long-term potentiation effect between pyramidal cells was not involved. Second, a muscarinic antagonist (atropine) completely abolished stable rhythmic activity after agonist washout. This result indicates that endogenous cholinergic activity is responsible for the persistence of rhythmic oscillations. These experiments suggest that short periods of intense cholinergic activity induce lasting changes in cholinergic synapses and thus extend such forms of plasticity to beyond the glutamatergic system.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences, University of California, 101 Theory, #250, Irvine, CA 92612-1695, USA. lcolgin@uci.edu
authors.forename: Laura Lee
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Colgin
authors.forename: Don
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lynch
mesh_terms: D015763:2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate / Q000494:pharmacology; D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001285:Atropine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D010276:Parasympatholytics / Q000494:pharmacology; D010830:Physostigmine / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000819:agonists; D012701:Serotonin / Q000494:pharmacology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D010276:Parasympatholytics; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D012701:Serotonin; D015763:2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate; D001285:Atropine; D010830:Physostigmine; D000109:Acetylcholine