title: Presynaptic kainate receptors impart an associative property to hippocampal mossy fiber long-term potentiation.
abstract: Hippocampal mossy fiber synapses show an unusual form of long-term potentiation (LTP) that is independent of NMDA receptor activation and is expressed presynaptically. Using receptor antagonists, as well as receptor knockout mice, we found that presynaptic kainate receptors facilitate the induction of mossy fiber long-term potentiation (LTP), although they are not required for this form of LTP. Most importantly, these receptors impart an associativity to mossy fiber LTP such that activity in neighboring mossy fiber synapses, or even associational/commissural synapses, influences the threshold for inducing mossy fiber LTP. Such a mechanism greatly increases the computational power of this form of plasticity.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Center, Charité, Humboldt-University Berlin, Schumannstr. 20/21, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Dietmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schmitz
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mellor
authors.forename: Joerg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Breustedt
authors.forename: Roger A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Nicoll
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D019599:Mossy Fibers, Hippocampal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018092:Kainic Acid Receptors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D000097806:GluK2 Kainate Receptor
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D011188:Potassium; D018092:Kainic Acid Receptors; D000097806:GluK2 Kainate Receptor