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1.
Neurons encode information and communicate via action potentials, which are generated following the summation of synaptic events. It is commonly assumed that action potentials reset the membrane potential completely, allowing another round of synaptic integration to begin. We show here that the conductances underlying the action potential act instead as a variable reset of synaptic integration. The strength of this reset is cell type-specific and depends on the kinetics, location, and timing of the synaptic input. As a consequence, distal synapses, as well as inputs mediated by N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor activation, can contribute disproportionately to synaptic integration during action potential firing.  相似文献   

2.
The synaptic response waveform, which determines signal integration properties in the brain, depends on the spatiotemporal profile of neurotransmitter in the synaptic cleft. Here, we show that electrophoretic interactions between AMPA receptor-mediated excitatory currents and negatively charged glutamate molecules accelerate the clearance of glutamate from the synaptic cleft, speeding up synaptic responses. This phenomenon is reversed upon depolarization and diminished when intracleft electric fields are weakened through a decrease in the AMPA receptor density. In contrast, the kinetics of receptor-mediated currents evoked by direct application of glutamate are voltage-independent, as are synaptic currents mediated by the electrically neutral neurotransmitter GABA. Voltage-dependent temporal tuning of excitatory synaptic responses may thus contribute to signal integration in neural circuits.  相似文献   

3.
To investigate the role of astrocytes in regulating synaptic transmission, we generated inducible transgenic mice that express a dominant-negative SNARE domain selectively in astrocytes to block the release of transmitters from these glial cells. By releasing adenosine triphosphate, which accumulates as adenosine, astrocytes tonically suppressed synaptic transmission, thereby enhancing the dynamic range for long-term potentiation and mediated activity-dependent, heterosynaptic depression. These results indicate that astrocytes are intricately linked in the regulation of synaptic strength and plasticity and provide a pathway for synaptic cross-talk.  相似文献   

4.
Activity-dependent modulation of synaptic efficacy in the brain contributes to neural circuit development and experience-dependent plasticity. Although glia are affected by activity and ensheathe synapses, their influence on synaptic strength has largely been ignored. Here, we show that a protein produced by glia, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), enhances synaptic efficacy by increasing surface expression of AMPA receptors. Preventing the actions of endogenous TNFalpha has the opposite effects. Thus, the continual presence of TNFalpha is required for preservation of synaptic strength at excitatory synapses. Through its effects on AMPA receptor trafficking, TNFalpha may play roles in synaptic plasticity and modulating responses to neural injury.  相似文献   

5.
Synaptic pruning by microglia is necessary for normal brain development   总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1  
Microglia are highly motile phagocytic cells that infiltrate and take up residence in the developing brain, where they are thought to provide a surveillance and scavenging function. However, although microglia have been shown to engulf and clear damaged cellular debris after brain insult, it remains less clear what role microglia play in the uninjured brain. Here, we show that microglia actively engulf synaptic material and play a major role in synaptic pruning during postnatal development in mice. These findings link microglia surveillance to synaptic maturation and suggest that deficits in microglia function may contribute to synaptic abnormalities seen in some neurodevelopmental disorders.  相似文献   

6.
The functions of sleep remain elusive, but a strong link exists between sleep need and neuronal plasticity. We tested the hypothesis that plastic processes during wake lead to a net increase in synaptic strength and sleep is necessary for synaptic renormalization. We found that, in three Drosophila neuronal circuits, synapse size or number increases after a few hours of wake and decreases only if flies are allowed to sleep. A richer wake experience resulted in both larger synaptic growth and greater sleep need. Finally, we demonstrate that the gene Fmr1 (fragile X mental retardation 1) plays an important role in sleep-dependent synaptic renormalization.  相似文献   

7.
Synaptic activation of an electrogenic sodium pump   总被引:5,自引:0,他引:5  
An identified molluscan interneuron mediates different cholinergic synaptic actions by increasing the conductance of its follower cells to different ions. We have now found that this interneuron also mediates a new class of synaptic actions which does not involve a conductance change but the activation of an electrogenic sodium pump. This synaptic action results in a prolonged inhibitory synaptic potential which is dependent on metabolism and is selectively blocked by cooling and ouabain. In cells which have this synaptic potential, part of the resting membrane potential is also maintained by an electrogenic sodium pump. The same transmitter, acetylcholine, can independently stimulate both a chloride ion conductance and a sodium pump mechanism in the same follower cell by acting on two different postsynaptic receptors.  相似文献   

8.
AMPA glutamate receptors (AMPARs) mediate fast excitatory synaptic transmission. Upon fast consecutive synaptic stimulation, transmission can be depressed. Recuperation from fast synaptic depression has been attributed solely to recovery of transmitter release and/or AMPAR desensitization. We show that AMPAR lateral diffusion, observed in both intact hippocampi and cultured neurons, allows fast exchange of desensitized receptors with na?ve functional ones within or near the postsynaptic density. Recovery from depression in the tens of millisecond time range can be explained in part by this fast receptor exchange. Preventing AMPAR surface movements through cross-linking, endogenous clustering, or calcium rise all slow recovery from depression. Physiological regulation of postsynaptic receptor mobility affects the fidelity of synaptic transmission by shaping the frequency dependence of synaptic responses.  相似文献   

9.
In vivo experience can occlude subsequent induction of long-term potentiation and enhance long-term depression of synaptic responses. Although a reduced capacity for synaptic strengthening may function to prevent excessive excitation, such an effect paradoxically implies that continued experience or training should not improve and may even degrade neural representations. In mice, we examined the effect of ongoing whisker stimulation on synaptic strengthening at layer 4-2/3 synapses in the barrel cortex. Although N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors were required to initiate strengthening, they subsequently suppressed further potentiation at these synapses in vitro and in vivo. Despite this transition, synaptic strengthening continued with additional sensory activity but instead required the activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors, suggesting a mechanism by which continued experience can result in increasing synaptic strength over time.  相似文献   

10.
Snake presynaptic phospholipase A2 neurotoxins (SPANs) paralyze the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Upon intoxication, the NMJ enlarges and has a reduced content of synaptic vesicles, and primary neuronal cultures show synaptic swelling with surface exposure of the lumenal domain of the synaptic vesicle protein synaptotagmin I. Concomitantly, these neurotoxins induce exocytosis of neurotransmitters. We found that an equimolar mixture of lysophospholipids and fatty acids closely mimics all of the biological effects of SPANs. These results draw attention to the possible role of local lipid changes in synaptic vesicle release and provide new tools for the study of exocytosis.  相似文献   

11.
Wan J  Poo M 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》1999,285(5434):1725-1728
Electrical activity plays a critical role in shaping the structure and function of synaptic connections in the nervous system. In Xenopus nerve-muscle cultures, a brief burst of action potentials in the presynaptic neuron induced a persistent potentiation of neuromuscular synapses that exhibit immature synaptic functions. Induction of potentiation required an elevation of postsynaptic Ca2+ and expression of potentiation appeared to involve an increased probability of transmitter secretion from the presynaptic nerve terminal. Thus, activity-dependent persistent synaptic enhancement may reflect properties characteristic of immature synaptic connections, and bursting activity in developing spinal neurons may promote functional maturation of the neuromuscular synapse.  相似文献   

12.
Muscarinic depression of long-term potentiation in CA3 hippocampal neurons   总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2  
Behavioral studies have suggested that muscarinic cholinergic systems have an important role in learning and memory. A muscarinic cholinergic agonist is now shown to affect synaptic plasticity in the CA3 region of the hippocampal slice. Long-term potentiation (LTP) of the mossy fiber-CA3 synapse was blocked by muscarine. Low concentrations of muscarine (1 micromolar) had little effect on low-frequency (0.2 hertz) synaptic stimulation but did significantly reduce the magnitude and probability of induction of LTP. Experiments under voltage clamp showed that muscarine blocked the increase in excitatory synaptic conductance normally associated with LTP at this synapse. These results suggest a possible role for cholinergic systems in synaptic plasticity.  相似文献   

13.
Signal-processing machines at the postsynaptic density   总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1  
Dendrites of individual neurons in the vertebrate central nervous system are contacted by thousands of synaptic terminals relaying information about the environment. The postsynaptic membrane at each synaptic terminal is the first place where information is processed as it converges on the dendrite. At the postsynaptic membrane of excitatory synapses, neurotransmitter receptors are attached to large protein "signaling machines" that delicately regulate the strength of synaptic transmission. These machines are visible in the electron microscope and are called the postsynaptic density. By changing synaptic strength in response to neural activity, the postsynaptic density contributes to information processing and the formation of memories.  相似文献   

14.
Memories are thought to be due to lasting synaptic modifications in the brain. The search for memory traces has relied predominantly on determining regions that are necessary for the process. However, a more informative approach is to define the smallest sufficient set of brain structures. The rutabaga adenylyl cyclase, an enzyme that is ubiquitously expressed in the Drosophila brain and that mediates synaptic plasticity, is needed exclusively in the Kenyon cells of the mushroom bodies for a component of olfactory short-term memory. This demonstrates that synaptic plasticity in a small brain region can be sufficient for memory formation.  相似文献   

15.
Bursting pacemaker activity in nerve cells can be modified for long periods by synaptic input of short duration. There is evidence that cyclic nucleotides may play a role in these modifications. The predominant effect of elevated levels of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate in Aplysia neurons was an increased slope conductance to hyperpolarizing pulses, evident in voltage clamp records. A similar increase in slope conductance was seen as one component of maximum strength synaptic stimulation, which is consistent with the idea that cyclic nucleotides are important in the expression of synaptic alteration of bursting pacemaker activity.  相似文献   

16.
Astrocytes potentiate transmitter release at single hippocampal synapses   总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1  
Perea G  Araque A 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2007,317(5841):1083-1086
Astrocytes play active roles in brain physiology. They respond to neurotransmitters and modulate neuronal excitability and synaptic function. However, the influence of astrocytes on synaptic transmission and plasticity at the single synapse level is unknown. Ca(2+) elevation in astrocytes transiently increased the probability of transmitter release at hippocampal area CA3-CA1 synapses, without affecting the amplitude of synaptic events. This form of short-term plasticity was due to the release of glutamate from astrocytes, a process that depended on Ca(2+) and soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) protein and that activated metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs). The transient potentiation of transmitter release became persistent when the astrocytic signal was temporally coincident with postsynaptic depolarization. This persistent plasticity was mGluR-mediated but N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor-independent. These results indicate that astrocytes are actively involved in the transfer and storage of synaptic information.  相似文献   

17.
Long-term synaptic potentiation   总被引:16,自引:0,他引:16  
Long-term synaptic potentiation (LTP) is a leading candidate for a synaptic mechanism of rapid learning in mammals. LTP is a persistent increase in synaptic efficacy that can be quickly induced. The biophysical process that controls one type of LTP is formally similar to a synaptic memory mechanism postulated decades ago by the psychologist Donald Hebb. A key aspect of the modification process involves the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-ionophore complex. This ionophore allows calcium influx only if the endogenous ligand glutamate binds to the NMDA receptor and if the voltage across the associated channel is also sufficiently depolarized to relieve a magnesium block. According to one popular hypothesis, the resulting increase in the intracellular calcium concentration activates protein kinases that enhance the postsynaptic conductance. Further biophysical and molecular understanding of the modification process should facilitate detailed explorations of the mnemonic functions of LTP.  相似文献   

18.
Using sensory information for the prediction of future events is essential for survival. Midbrain dopamine neurons are activated by environmental cues that predict rewards, but the cellular mechanisms that underlie this phenomenon remain elusive. We used in vivo voltammetry and in vitro patch-clamp electrophysiology to show that both dopamine release to reward predictive cues and enhanced synaptic strength onto dopamine neurons develop over the course of cue-reward learning. Increased synaptic strength was not observed after stable behavioral responding. Thus, enhanced synaptic strength onto dopamine neurons may act to facilitate the transformation of neutral environmental stimuli to salient reward-predictive cues.  相似文献   

19.
Zhou Q  Tao HW  Poo MM 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2003,300(5627):1953-1957
Persistent synaptic modifications are essential for experience-dependent refinement of developing circuits. However, in the developing Xenopus retinotectal system, activity-induced synaptic modifications were quickly reversed either by subsequent spontaneous activity in the tectum or by exposure to random visual inputs. This reversal depended on the burst spiking and activation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate subtype of glutamate receptors. Stabilization of synaptic modifications can be achieved by an appropriately spaced pattern of induction stimuli. These findings underscore the vulnerable nature of activity-induced synaptic modifications in vivo and suggest a temporal constraint on the pattern of visual inputs for effective induction of stable synaptic modifications.  相似文献   

20.
The number of vesicles released at excitatory synapses and the number of release sites per synaptic connection are key determinants of information processing in the cortex, yet they remain uncertain. Here we show that the number of functional release sites and the number of anatomically identified synaptic contacts are equal at connections between spiny stellate and pyramidal cells in rat barrel cortex. Moreover, our results indicate that the amount of transmitter released per synaptic contact is independent of release probability and the intrinsic release probability is high. These properties suggest that connections between layer 4 and layer 2/3 are tuned for reliable transmission of spatially distributed, timing-based signals.  相似文献   

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