title: Adenosine A(2A) receptor modulation of hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapse plasticity during associative learning in behaving mice.
abstract: Previous in vitro studies have characterized the electrophysiological and molecular signaling pathways of adenosine tonic modulation on long-lasting synaptic plasticity events, particularly for hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP). However, it remains to be elucidated whether the long-term changes produced by endogenous adenosine in the efficiency of synapses are related to those required for learning and memory formation. Our goal was to understand how endogenous activation of adenosine excitatory A(2A) receptors modulates the associative learning evolution in conscious behaving mice. We have studied here the effects of the application of a highly selective A(2A) receptor antagonist, SCH58261, upon a well-known associative learning paradigm-classical eyeblink conditioning. We used a trace paradigm, with a tone as the conditioned stimulus (CS) and an electric shock presented to the supraorbital nerve as the unconditioned stimulus (US). A single electrical pulse was presented to the Schaffer collateral-commissural pathway to evoke field EPSPs (fEPSPs) in the pyramidal CA1 area during the CS-US interval. In vehicle-injected animals, there was a progressive increase in the percentage of conditioning responses (CRs) and in the slope of fEPSPs through conditioning sessions, an effect that was completely prevented (and lost) in SCH58261 (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) -injected animals. Moreover, experimentally evoked LTP was impaired in SCH58261-injected mice. In conclusion, the endogenous activation of adenosine A(2A) receptors plays a pivotal effect on the associative learning process and its relevant hippocampal circuits, including activity-dependent changes at the CA3-CA1 synapse.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmacology and Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Unit of Neurosciences, Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Bruno M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Fontinha
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Delgado-García
authors.forename: Noelia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Madroñal
authors.forename: Joaquim A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Ana M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sebastião
authors.forename: Agnès
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gruart
mesh_terms: D058917:Adenosine A2 Receptor Antagonists; D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D001703:Biophysics; D001767:Blinking / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology*; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000494:pharmacology; D043705:Receptor, Adenosine A2A / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014230:Triazoles / Q000494:pharmacology; D014851:Wakefulness
chemical_list: C098657:5-amino-7-(2-phenylethyl)-2-(2-furyl)pyrazolo(4,3-e)-1,2,4-triazolo(1,5-c)pyrimidine; D058917:Adenosine A2 Receptor Antagonists; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D011743:Pyrimidines; D043705:Receptor, Adenosine A2A; D014230:Triazoles