Time-dependent reversal of long-term potentiation by low-frequency stimulation at the hippocampal mossy fiber-CA3 synapses

Insulin induces a novel form of postsynaptic mossy fiber long-term depression in the hippocampus

The mechanisms of induction and the site of expression of long-term depression (LTD) at the hippocampal mossy fiber-CA3 synapses are not clear. Here, we show that a brief bath application of insulin induces a novel form of mossy fiber LTD. This insulin-LTD is (1) induced and expressed postsynaptically, (2) entirely independent of synaptic stimulation during insulin application, (3) involving a rise in postsynaptic [Ca(2+)](i) and L-type voltage-activated Ca(2+) channel activation, (4) mechanistically distinct from low-frequency stimulation-induced LTD, (5) dependent on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling, and (6) associated with a clathrin-mediated endocytotic removal of surface 3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid receptors from the postsynaptic neurons. Moreover, insulin-LTD is specific to mossy fibers to CA3 pyramidal cell synapses, and is not present at associational commissural synapses. These findings not only support a postsynaptic locus of mossy fiber LTD, but also provide a further link between the AMPA receptor trafficking and the bidirectional expression of long-term synaptic plasticity.

Hippocampal gene expression profiling in spatial discrimination learning

Learning and long-term memory are thought to involve temporally defined changes in gene expression that lead to the strengthening of synaptic connections in selected brain regions. We used cDNA microarrays to study hippocampal gene expression in animals trained in a spatial discrimination-learning paradigm. Our analysis identified 19 genes that showed statistically significant changes in expression when comparing Nai;ve versus Trained animals. We confirmed the changes in expression for the genes encoding the nuclear protein prothymosin(alpha) and the delta-1 opioid receptor (DOR1) by Northern blotting or in situ hybridization. In additional studies, laser-capture microdissection (LCM) allowed us to obtain enriched neuronal populations from the dentate gyrus, CA1, and CA3 subregions of the hippocampus from Nai;ve, Pseudotrained, and spatially Trained animals. Real-time PCR examined the spatial learning specificity of hippocampal modulation of the genes encoding protein kinase B (PKB, also known as Akt), protein kinase C(delta) (PKC(delta)), cell adhesion kinase(beta) (CAK(beta), also known as Pyk2), and receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase(zeta/beta) (RPTP(zeta/beta)). These studies showed subregion specificity of spatial learning-induced changes in gene expression within the hippocampus, a feature that was particular to each gene studied. We suggest that statistically valid gene expression profiles generated with cDNA microarrays may provide important insights as to the cellular and molecular events subserving learning and memory processes in the brain.

Reexamination of the role of hyperpolarization-activated cation channels in short- and long-term plasticity at hippocampal mossy fiber synapses

We tested a proposal that the hyperpolarization-activated cation channel (I(h) channel) is involved in the induction of short- and long-term plasticity at the hippocampal mossy fiber-CA3 synapses. Bath application of a specific I(h) channel blocker ZD 7288, at a concentration at which it blocked I(h) channels, substantially depressed mossy fiber synaptic transmission, and this inhibition was occluded by previous blockade of these channels by CsCl. In addition, ZD 7288 attenuated the amplitude of both AMPA and NMDA receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) equally and caused a coincident increase in the failure rate of single-fiber EPSCs and paired-pulse facilitation (PPF). It also blocked long-term potentiation (LTP) induction when applied before high-frequency tetanic stimulation (TS), and reversed LTP when applied afterwards. Continuous application of CsCl, which efficiently blocks I(h) channels, mimicked ZD 7288 in inhibiting LTP. Furthermore, ZD 7288 blocked both forskolin- and Sp-8-CPT-cAMPS-mediated enhancements of synaptic transmission. However, it did not affect the frequency facilitation induced by increasing the stimulus frequency from 0.05-1 Hz and the expression of the long-term depression (LTD) induced by low-frequency stimulation (LFS) or DCG-IV. Perforated patch-clamp recordings from granule cells revealed that the voltage for half-maximal activation (V(1/2)) of I(h) was significantly shifted towards the depolarizing direction following forskolin or Sp-8-CPT-cAMPS treatment. This enhanced I(h) current was not due to persistent activation of protein kinase A (PKA), because PKA inhibitor KT5720 did not abolish the difference between the activation curves. Therefore, we conclude that I(h) channels may contribute to the development and regulation of short- and long-term plasticity at the mossy fiber-CA3 synapses.

Alterations in the balance of protein kinase and phosphatase activities and age-related impairments of synaptic transmission and long-term potentiation

Aging is associated with an impaired ability to maintain long-term potentiation (LTP), but the underlying cause of the impairment remains unclear. To gain a better understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for this impairment, the synaptic transmission and plasticity were studied in the CA1 region of hippocampal slices from adult (6-8 months) and poor-memory (PM)-aged (23-24 months) rats. The one-way inhibitory avoidance learning task was used as the behavioral paradigm to screen PM-aged rats. With intracellular recordings, CA1 neurons of PM-aged rats exhibited a more hyperpolarized resting membrane potential, reduced input resistance, and increased amplitude of afterhyperpolarization and spike threshold, compared with those in adult rats. Although a reduction in the size of excitatory synaptic response was observed in PM-aged rats, no obvious differences were found between adult and PM-aged rats in the pharmacological properties of excitatory synaptic response, paired-pulse facilitation, or frequency-dependent facilitation, which was tested with trains of 10 pulses at 1, 5, and 10 Hz. Slices from the PM-aged rats displayed significantly reduced early-phase long-term potentiation (E-LTP) and late-phase LTP (L-LTP), and the entire frequency-response curve of LTP and LTD is modified to favor LTD induction. The susceptibility of time-dependent reversal of LTP by low-frequency afferent stimulation was also facilitated in PM-aged rats. Bath application of the protein phosphatase inhibitor, calyculin A, enhanced synaptic response in slices from PM-aged, but not adult, rats. In contrast, application of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase inhibitors, Rp-8-CPT-cAMPS and KT5720, induced a decrease in synaptic transmission only in slices from the adult rats. Furthermore, the selective beta-adrenergic receptor agonist, isoproterenol, and pertussis toxin-sensitive G-protein inhibitor, N-ethylmaleimide, effectively restored the deficit in E-LTP and L-LTP of PM-aged rats. These results demonstrate that age-related impairments of synaptic transmission and LTP may result from alterations in the balance of protein kinase/phosphatase activities.

Protein synthesis is required for synaptic immunity to depotentiation

De novo protein synthesis and transcription are necessary for the expression of long-lasting synaptic potentiation [long-term potentiation (LTP)] in hippocampal area CA1 and for the consolidation of long-term memory. The stability of LTP and its longevity require macromolecular synthesis at later stages, but a specific role for early protein synthesis has not been identified. Using electrophysiological recording methods in mouse hippocampal slices, we show that multiple trains of high-frequency stimulation provide immediate synaptic immunity to depotentiation. This immunity to depotentiation is dependent on the amount of synaptic stimulation used to induce LTP, it is input specific, and it is prevented by inhibitors of protein synthesis. We propose that local translation mediates input-specific synaptic immunity against depotentiation. We also present evidence suggesting that, in addition to translation, products of transcription can provide cell-wide immunity to depotentiation via heterosynaptic transfer of synaptic immunity between distinct pathways in area CA1. Protein synthesis and transcription may importantly regulate long-term storage of information by conferring synaptic immunity to depotentiation at previously potentiated synapses.

New life in an old idea: the synaptic plasticity and memory hypothesis revisited

The notion that changes in synaptic efficacy underlie learning and memory processes is now widely accepted, although definitive proof of the synaptic plasticity and memory hypothesis is still lacking. This article reviews recent evidence relevant to the hypothesis, with particular emphasis on studies of experience-dependent plasticity in the neocortex and hippocampus. In our view, there is now compelling evidence that changes in synaptic strength occur as a consequence of certain forms of learning. A major challenge will be to determine whether such changes constitute the memory trace itself or play a less specific supporting role in the information processing that accompanies memory formation.

The control of seizure-like activity in the rat hippocampal slice

The sudden and transient hypersynchrony of neuronal firing that characterizes epileptic seizures can be considered as the transitory stabilization of metastable states present within the dynamical repertoire of a neuronal network. Using an in vitro model of recurrent spontaneous seizures in the rat horizontal hippocampal slice preparation, we present an approach to characterize the dynamics of the transition to seizure, and to use this information to control the activity and avoid the occurrence of seizure-like events. The transition from the interictal activity (between seizures) to the seizure-like event is aborted by brief (20-50 s) low-frequency (0.5 Hz) periodic forcing perturbations, applied via an extracellular stimulating electrode to the mossy fibers, the axons of the dentate neurons that synapse onto the CA3 pyramidal cells. This perturbation results in the stabilization of an interictal-like low-frequency firing pattern in the hippocampal slice. The results derived from this work shed light on the dynamics of the transition to seizure and will further the development of algorithms that can be used in automated devices to stop seizure occurrence.

Role for cAMP and protein phosphatase in the presynaptic expression of mouse hippocampal mossy fibre depotentiation

Long-term potentiation (LTP) at the hippocampal mossy fibre-CA3 synapses can be reversed (depotentiated) by long trains of low-frequency stimulation (LFS). In the present study, we showed that this depotentiation is triggered by a presynaptic group II metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR), which reduces cytosolic cAMP level, leading to a reversal of cellular processes responsible for mossy fibre LTP expression. Furthermore, we found that both the presynaptic activity-induced elevation of Ca(2+) and the activation of protein phosphatase (PP) activity are required for the induction of depotentiation. Thus, we conclude that mossy fibre depotentiation is expressed presynaptically through the activation of both presynaptic mGluR- and PP-coupled signalling cascades, and that the bidirectional long-term plasticity at the mossy fibre-CA3 synapses is likely to be regulated by presynaptic Ca(2+)-dependent processes.

"Silent" metaplasticity of the late phase of long-term potentiation requires protein phosphatases

The late phase of long-term potentiation (L-LTP) is correlated with some types of long-term memory, but the mechanisms by which L-LTP is modulated by prior synaptic activity are undefined. Activation of protein phosphatases by low-frequency stimulation (LFS) given before induction of L-LTP may significantly modify L-LTP. Using cellular electrophysiological recording methods in mouse hippocampal slices, we show that LFS given before induction of L-LTP inhibited L-LTP in an activity-dependent manner without affecting either basal synaptic strength or the early phase of LTP (E-LTP). This anterograde inhibitory effect of LFS was persistent, required N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation, and was blocked by inhibitors of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) and protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). These data indicate that certain patterns of LFS can activate PP1 and/or PP2A, and that long-lasting activation of these phosphatases by prior LFS can suppress the subsequent expression of L-LTP without affecting E-LTP. Because this inhibition of L-LTP is caused by prior synaptic activity that, alone, produced no net effect on synaptic efficacy, we suggest that this is a "silent" form of metaplasticity that may influence long-term information storage by modulating the capacity of synapses to express L-LTP after repeated bouts of activity.