title: Long-term potentiation enhances neurogenesis in the adult dentate gyrus.
abstract: Activity-dependent synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis are two forms of brain plasticity that can participate in functional remodeling of neural networks during the formation of memories. We examined whether long-term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory synaptic transmission, a well characterized form of synaptic plasticity believed to play a critical role in memory formation, can regulate the rate of neurogenesis in the adult rat dentate gyrus in vivo. We first show that induction of LTP at medial perforant path-granule cell synapses stimulates the proliferation of progenitor cells in the dentate gyrus with a consequential long-term persistence of a larger population of surviving newborn cells. Using protocols to examine the effect of LTP on survival, we next show that LTP induction promotes survival of 1- to 2-week-old dentate granule cells. In no case did LTP appear to affect neuronal differentiation. Finally, we show that LTP induces expression of the plasticity-related transcription factor Zif268 in a substantial fraction of 2-week-old but not 1-week-old neurons, suggesting the prosurvival effect of LTP can be observed in the absence of LTP-mediated Zif268 induction in newborn cells. Our results indicate that electrically induced LTP in the dentate gyrus in vivo provides a cellular/molecular environment that favors both proliferation and survival of adult-generated neurons.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Neurobiologie de l'Apprentissage, de la Mémoire et de la Communication, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unité Mixte de Recherche 8620, Université Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay, France.
authors.forename: Elodie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bruel-Jungerman
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rampon
authors.forename: Serge
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Laroche
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D018891:Dentate Gyrus / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000502:physiology*; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley