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- Title
Coincidence detection and changes of synaptic efficacy in spiny stellate neurons in rat barrel cortex.
- Authors
Egger, Veronica; Feldmeyer, Dirk; Sakmann, Bert
- Abstract
Paired whole-cell voltage recordings were made from synaptically connected spiny stellate neurons in layer 4 of the barrel field in young (P14) rat somatosensory cortex. When postsynaptic action potentials (APs) followed each of 5 presynaptic APs in a 10- or 20-Hz train by less than 25 ms, subsequent unitary EPSP amplitudes were persistently reduced. Induction of long-term depression (LTD) depended on activation of group II metabotropic glutamate receptors, but not on NMDA or AMPA receptors. Reducing postsynaptic increases in intracellular calcium ([Ca[sup 2+]][sub i]) by intracellular loading with a fast- (BAPTA) or a slow- (EGTA) acting Ca[sup 2+] buffer blocked synaptic depression. Analysis of EPSP failures suggested mediation of LTD by a reduction in release probability. We propose a mechanism by which coincident activity results in long-lasting reduction of synaptic efficacy between synaptically connected neurons.
- Subjects
SYNAPSES; NEURONS; CEREBRAL cortex
- Publication
Nature Neuroscience, 1999, Vol 2, Issue 12, p1098
- ISSN
1097-6256
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/16026