title: Bidirectional modulation of long-term potentiation by novelty-exploration in rat dentate gyrus.
abstract: Previous studies have shown that exploration of a novel environment reverses hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP). Here we demonstrate a bidirectional modulation of LTP measured in the dentate gyrus of freely moving rats by means of novelty exploration. A transient form of LTP lasting about 6 h was induced in perforant path-granular cell-synapses by a weak tetanization protocol (three bursts of 15 pulses at f=200 Hz). LTP was reversed when non-restricted exploration of a novel environment started 2 min after LTP induction. In contrast, using the same interval and limiting the exploration duration to 1 min led to LTP-prolongation. Furthermore, LTP-reinforcement was also obtained when a not-restricted exploration started within 2 min before tetanization. The observed interplay of LTP-impairing and -enhancing factors may be relevant for the modulation of memory formation by novelty.
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Institute for Neurobiology, Department of Neurophysiology, Brenneckestrasse 6, 39118, Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Straube
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Korz
authors.forename: Julietta U
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Frey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001831:Body Temperature; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D013826:Theta Rhythm
chemical_list: D003345:Corticosterone