title: Activity-dependent reorganization of local circuitry in the developing visceral sensory system.
abstract: Neural activity during critical periods could fine-tune functional synaptic connections. N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation is critically implicated in this process and blockade leads to disruption of normal circuit formation. This phenomenon has been well investigated in several neural systems including the somatosensory system, but not yet evidenced in the visceral sensory system. Ultrastructural analysis of GABAergic synapses and electrophysiological analysis of inhibitory and excitatory postsynaptic currents of the rat caudal nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) cells revealed that developmental changes in the synaptic organizations were blocked by MK-801, an NMDA receptor antagonist, when administered at postnatal days 5-8, a presumed critical period for the visceral sensory system. Normal synapse reorganization during postnatal development dictates undifferentiated neonatal caudal NTS neurons in terms of synaptic input patterns measured by electron microscopy and electrophysiology into two cell groups: small and large cells under far stronger excitatory and inhibitory influence, respectively. Blockade by MK-801 during the critical period might leave adult neurons wired in the undifferentiated synaptic networks, possibly preventing synapse elimination and subsequent stabilization of the proper wiring.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-Shimbashi Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshioka
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D064026:Calbindins; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate / Q000494:pharmacology; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron / Q000379:methods; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009433:Neural Inhibition; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G / Q000378:metabolism; D013569:Synapses / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000378:metabolism; D017833:Visceral Afferents / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D064026:Calbindins; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D016291:Dizocilpine Maleate; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase