title: Dendritic GIRK Channels Gate the Integration Window, Plateau Potentials, and Induction of Synaptic Plasticity in Dorsal But Not Ventral CA1 Neurons.
abstract: Studies comparing neuronal activity at the dorsal and ventral poles of the hippocampus have shown that the scale of spatial information increases and the precision with which space is represented declines from the dorsal to ventral end. These dorsoventral differences in neuronal output and spatial representation could arise due to differences in computations performed by dorsal and ventral CA1 neurons. In this study, we tested this hypothesis by quantifying the differences in dendritic integration and synaptic plasticity between dorsal and ventral CA1 pyramidal neurons of rat hippocampus. Using a combination of somatic and dendritic patch-clamp recordings, we show that the threshold for LTP induction is higher in dorsal CA1 neurons and that a G-protein-coupled inward-rectifying potassium channel mediated regulation of dendritic plateau potentials and dendritic excitability underlies this gating. By contrast, similar regulation of LTP is absent in ventral CA1 neurons. Additionally, we show that generation of plateau potentials and LTP induction in dorsal CA1 neurons depends on the coincident activation of Schaffer collateral and temporoammonic inputs at the distal apical dendrites. The ventral CA1 dendrites, however, can generate plateau potentials in response to temporally dispersed excitatory inputs. Overall, our results highlight the dorsoventral differences in dendritic computation that could account for the dorsoventral differences in spatial representation.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThe dorsal and ventral parts of the hippocampus encode spatial information at very different scales. Whereas the place-specific firing fields are small and precise at the dorsal end of the hippocampus, neurons at the ventral end have comparatively larger place fields. Here, we show that the dorsal CA1 neurons have a higher threshold for LTP induction and require coincident timing of excitatory synaptic inputs for the generation of dendritic plateau potentials. By contrast, ventral CA1 neurons can integrate temporally dispersed inputs and have a lower threshold for LTP. Together, these dorsoventral differences in the threshold for LTP induction could account for the differences in scale of spatial representation at the dorsal and ventral ends of the hippocampus.
authors.affiliation: Center for Learning and Memory and Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 ruchi@ca1.clm.utexas.edu djohnston@mail.clm.utexas.edu.
authors.forename: Ruchi
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0611-8790
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.affiliation: Center for Learning and Memory and Department of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 ruchi@ca1.clm.utexas.edu djohnston@mail.clm.utexas.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9733-1011
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Johnston
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D017609:Barium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D056547:CA1 Region, Hippocampal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002712:Chlorides / Q000494:pharmacology; D003712:Dendrites / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051676:G Protein-Coupled Inwardly-Rectifying Potassium Channels / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000502:physiology*; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D017609:Barium Compounds; D002712:Chlorides; D051676:G Protein-Coupled Inwardly-Rectifying Potassium Channels; C024986:barium chloride
keywords: CA1 pyramidal neurons; G-protein-coupled inward-rectifying potassium channels; dorsoventral axis; long-term potentiation; membrane potential; plateau potentials