title: Vasopressin inhibits LTP in the CA2 mouse hippocampal area.
abstract: Growing evidence points to vasopressin (AVP) as a social behavior regulator modulating various memory processes and involved in pathologies such as mood disorders, anxiety and depression. Accordingly, AVP antagonists are actually envisaged as putative treatments. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly characterized, in particular the influence of AVP on cellular or synaptic activities in limbic brain areas involved in social behavior. In the present study, we investigated AVP action on the synapse between the entorhinal cortex and CA2 hippocampal pyramidal neurons, by using both field potential and whole-cell recordings in mice brain acute slices. Short application (1 min) of AVP transiently reduced the synaptic response, only following induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) by high frequency stimulation (HFS) of afferent fibers. The basal synaptic response, measured in the absence of HFS, was not affected. The Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapse was not affected by AVP, even after LTP, while the Schaffer collateral-CA2 synapse was inhibited. Although investigated only recently, this CA2 hippocampal area appears to have a distinctive circuitry and a peculiar role in controlling episodic memory. Accordingly, AVP action on LTP-increased synaptic responses in this limbic structure may contribute to the role of this neuropeptide in controlling memory and social behavior.
authors.affiliation: CNRS, UMR-5203, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Magda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chafai
authors.forename: Maithé
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corbani
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guillon
authors.forename: Michel G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Desarménien
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056651:CA2 Region, Hippocampal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D013569:Synapses / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D014667:Vasopressins / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D014667:Vasopressins