NMDA receptor antagonists block heterosynaptic long-term depression (LTD) but not long-term potentiation (LTP) in the CA3 region following lateral perforant path stimulation

BDNF and Lactate as Modulators of Hippocampal CA3 Network Physiology

Growing evidence supports the notion that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and lactate are potent modulators of mammalian brain function. The modulatory actions of those biomolecules influence a wide range of neuronal responses, from the shaping of neuronal excitability to the induction and expression of structural and synaptic plasticity. The biological actions of BDNF and lactate are mediated by their cognate receptors and specific transporters located in the neuronal membrane. Canonical functions of BDNF occur via the tropomyosin-related kinase B receptor (TrkB), whereas lactate acts via monocarboxylate transporters or the hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor 1 (HCAR1). Both receptors are highly expressed in the central nervous system, and some of their physiological actions are particularly well characterized in the hippocampus, a brain structure involved in the neurophysiology of learning and memory. The multifarious neuronal circuitry between the axons of the dentate gyrus granule cells, mossy fibers (MF), and pyramidal neurons of area CA3 is of great interest given its role in specific mnemonic processes and involvement in a growing number of brain disorders. Whereas the modulation exerted by BDNF via TrkB has been extensively studied, the influence of lactate via HCAR1 on the properties of the MF-CA3 circuit is an emerging field. In this review, we discuss the role of both systems in the modulation of brain physiology, with emphasis on the hippocampal CA3 network. We complement this review with original data that suggest cross-modulation is exerted by these two independent neuromodulatory systems.

Interaction between long-term potentiation and depression in CA1 synapses: temporal constrains, functional compartmentalization and protein synthesis

Information arriving at a neuron via anatomically defined pathways undergoes spatial and temporal encoding. A proposed mechanism by which temporally and spatially segregated information is encoded at the cellular level is based on the interactive properties of synapses located within and across functional dendritic compartments. We examined cooperative and interfering interactions between long-term synaptic potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD), two forms of synaptic plasticity thought to be key in the encoding of information in the brain. Two approaches were used in CA1 pyramidal neurons of the mouse hippocampus: (1) induction of LTP and LTD in two separate synaptic pathways within the same apical dendritic compartment and across the basal and apical dendritic compartments; (2) induction of LTP and LTD separated by various time intervals (0–90 min). Expression of LTP/LTD interactions was spatially and temporally regulated. While they were largely restricted within the same dendritic compartment (compartmentalized), the nature of the interaction (cooperation or interference) depended on the time interval between inductions. New protein synthesis was found to regulate the expression of the LTP/LTD interference. We speculate that mechanisms for compartmentalization and protein synthesis confer the spatial and temporal modulation by which neurons encode multiplex information in plastic synapses.

Endogenous opioid peptides contribute to associative LTP in the hippocampal CA3 region

The medial and lateral perforant path projections to the hippocampal CA3 region display distinct mechanisms of long-term potentiation (LTP) induction, N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) and opioid receptor dependent, respectively. However, medial and lateral perforant path projections to the CA3 region display associative LTP with coactivation, suggesting that while they differ in receptors involved in LTP induction they may share common downstream mechanisms of LTP induction. Here we address this interaction of LTP induction mechanisms by evaluating the contribution of opioid receptors to the induction of associative LTP among the medial and lateral perforant path projections to the CA3 region in vivo. Local application of the opioid receptor antagonists naloxone or Cys2-Tyr3-Orn5-Pen7-amide (CTOP) normally block induction of lateral perforant path-CA3 LTP. However, these opioid receptor antagonists failed to block associative LTP in lateral perforant path-CA3 synapses when it was induced by strong coactivation of the medial perforant pathway which displays NMDAR-dependent LTP. Thus strong activation of non-opioidergic afferents can substitute for the opioid receptor activation required for lateral perforant path LTP induction. Conversely, medial perforant path-CA3 associative LTP was blocked by opioid receptor antagonists when induced by strong coactivation of the opioidergic lateral perforant path. These data indicate endogenous opioid peptides contribute to associative LTP at coactive synapses when induced by strong coactivation of an opioidergic afferent system. These data further suggest that associative LTP induction is regulated by the receptor mechanisms of the strongly stimulated pathway. Thus, while medial and lateral perforant path synapses differ in their mechanisms of LTP induction, associative LTP at these synapses share common downstream mechanisms of induction.

Differential regulation of synaptic plasticity of the hippocampal and the hypothalamic inputs to the anterior thalamus

The hippocampus projects to the anterior thalamic nuclei both directly and indirectly via the mammillary bodies, but little is known about the electrophysiological properties of these convergent pathways. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, the presence of long-term plasticity in anterior thalamic nuclei synapses in response to high- and low-frequency stimulation (LFS) in urethane-anesthetized rats. We compared the synaptic changes evoked via the direct vs. the indirect hippocampal pathways to the anterior thalamus, and found that long-term potentiation (LTP) of the thalamic field response is induced predominantly through the direct hippocampal projections. Furthermore, we have estimated that that long-term depression (LTD) can be induced only after stimulation of the indirect connections carried by the mammillothalamic tract. Interestingly, basal synaptic transmission mediated by the mammillothalamic tract undergoes use-dependent, BDNF-mediated potentiation, revealing a distinct form of plasticity specific to the diencephalic region. Our data indicate that the thalamus does not passively relay incoming information, but rather acts as a synaptic network, where the ability to integrate hippocampal and mammillary body inputs is dynamically modified as a result of previous activity in the circuit. The complementary properties of these two parallel pathways upon anterior thalamic activity reveal that they do not have duplicate functions.

Paradoxical sleep as a tool for understanding the hippocampal mechanisms of contextual memory

Existing data on the involvement of the hippocampus in contextual memory and the fact that contextual memory is impaired in dreams occurring during paradoxical sleep allowed us to suggest that one of the causes of this impairment consists of changes in the efficiency of synaptic transmission in the hippocampus due to increases (as compared with waking) in the concentrations of acetylcholine, dopamine, and cortisol, as well as the absence of serotonin and noradrenaline. Our previous analysis showed that in paradoxical sleep, long-term depression can be induced all components of the polysynaptic pathway through the hippocampal formation, while potentiation can occur at the inputs from the entorhinal cortex to hippocampal fields CA1 and CA3 and in the associative connections in field CA3. It is hypothesized that the correct functioning of episodic memory requires efficient transmission of signals in each component of the polysynaptic pathway through the hippocampus, allowing a neuronal representation of the context to be created within it. In the state of waking, reproduction of the context of an episode simultaneously activates the neuronal representation of the context remembered in the hippocampus and neuronal representations of the details of the episode remembered in those areas of the cortex in which they were processed. It follows from the proposed mechanism that any neurotransmitter or neuropeptide able to promote longterm potentiation in all components of the polysynaptic pathway through the hippocampus can improve episodic memory. As the consequences of the mechanism are consistent with experimental data, it can be used to seek agents improving episodic memory.

Prenatal morphine exposure attenuates the maintenance of late LTP in lateral perforant path projections to the dentate gyrus and the CA3 region in vivo

Previously we reported that prenatal exposure to morphine twice daily during gestation decreases proenkephalin levels in adult progeny within the brain, including the dentate gyrus, and alters mu and delta opioid receptors in the hippocampal CA3 region. The lateral aspect of the perforant path contains and releases enkephalin-derived opioid peptides, and induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in lateral perforant path projections to both the dentate gyrus and the hippocampal CA3 region is blocked by antagonists of opioid receptors. Thus LTP induction at these synapses involves opioid receptor activation mediated by the release of proenkephalin-derived opioid peptides with lateral perforant path activation. Here we show in adult behaving animals, neither LTP induction nor the early phase of LTP (E-LTP) maintenance is altered by prenatal morphine exposure in the lateral perforant path projections to the dentate gyrus and the CA3 region. However, maintenance and longevity of late LTP (L-LTP), as reflected in the magnitude of LTP over days, was attenuated in animals prenatally exposed to morphine. In contrast, in medial perforant path projections to the dentate gyrus and CA3 region, both LTP induction and the maintenance of E- and L-LTP were unaffected by prenatal morphine treatment. Thus a brief prenatal exposure to the opiate morphine produces sustained, and possibly permanent, alterations in L-LTP in the opioidergic lateral perforant path projection. This suggests that prenatal morphine exposure disrupts LTP via disruption of opioid mechanisms involved in LTP maintenance or via disruption of opioid receptor activation during LTP induction, which can subsequently alter LTP maintenance.

Co-induction of long-term potentiation and long-term depression at a central synapse in the leech

Most studies of long-term potentiation (LTP) have focused on potentiation induced by the activation of postsynaptic NMDA receptors (NMDARs). However, it is now apparent that NMDAR-dependent signaling processes are not the only form of LTP operating in the brain [Malenka, R. C., & Bear, M. F. (2004). LTP and LTD: An embarrassment of riches. Neuron, 44, 5-21]. Previously, we have observed that LTP in leech central synapses made by the touch mechanosensory neurons onto the S interneuron was NMDAR-independent [Burrell, B. D., & Sahley, C. L. (2004). Multiple forms of long-term potentiation and long-term depression converge on a single interneuron in the leech CNS. Journal of Neuroscience, 24, 4011-4019]. Here we examine the cellular mechanisms mediating T-to-S (T-->S) LTP and find that its induction requires activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs), voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channels (VDCCs) and protein kinase C (PKC). Surprisingly, whenever LTP was pharmacologically inhibited, long-term depression (LTD) was observed at the tetanized synapse, indicating that LTP and LTD were activated at the same time in the same synaptic pathway. This co-induction of LTP and LTD likely plays an important role in activity-dependent regulation of synaptic transmission.

Contribution of NMDA receptor NR2B subunit to synaptic plasticity during associative learning in behaving rats

The difference in the amounts of NR2 subunits contained in NMDA receptors of the hippocampus has been related to their different involvement in activity-dependent synaptic plasticity. Here, we show that Ro 25-6981, a high-affinity and selective blocker of NMDA receptors containing NR2B subunits, is able to block the acquisition of a trace conditioning paradigm in adult rats, a task that requires the active participation of hippocampal circuits. Reconditioning with the same trace paradigm was also prevented by Ro 25-6981. In addition, we show that the slope of monosynaptic field excitatory postsynaptic potentials evoked at the dentate gyrus by single pulses presented to the medial perforant pathway increases significantly across conditioning sessions and during reconditioning, in a linear relationship with the increase in the number of classically conditioned eyelid responses. Administration of Ro 25-6981 prevented these learning-related changes in synaptic strength at the perforant pathway-dentate granule cell synapse. The present results suggest the involvement of NR2B-containing NMDA receptors in hippocampal functions related to both associative learning and activity-dependent synaptic plasticity.

Plastic processes in the dentate gyrus: a computational perspective

The dentate gyrus has the capacity for numerous types of synaptic plasticity that use diverse mechanisms and are thought essential for the storage of information in the hippocampus. Here we review the various forms of synaptic plasticity that involve afferents and efferents of the dentate gyrus, and, from a computational perspective, relate how these plastic processes might contribute to sparse, orthogonal encoding, and the selective recall of information within the hippocampus.

Control of synaptic consolidation in the dentate gyrus: mechanisms, functions, and therapeutic implications

Synaptic consolidation refers to the development and stabilization of protein synthesis-dependent modifications of synaptic strength as observed during long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). Activity-dependent changes in synaptic strength are thought to underlie memory storage and other adaptive responses of the nervous systems of importance in mood stability, reward behavior, and pain control. This chapter focuses on the mechanisms and functions of synaptic consolidation in the dentate gyrus, a critical structure not only in hippocampal memory function, but also in regulation of stress responses and cognitive aspects of depression. Recent evidence suggests that synaptic consolidation at excitatory medial perforant path-granule cell synapses requires brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling and induction of the immediate early gene activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc). Arc mRNA is strongly induced and transported to dendritic processes following high-frequency stimulation (HFS) that induces LTP in the rat dentate gyrus in vivo. Sustained synthesis of Arc during a surprisingly protracted time-window is required for hyperphosphorylation of actin depolymerizing factor/cofilin and local expansion of the actin cytoskeleton in vivo. Furthermore, this process of Arc-dependent synaptic consolidation is activated in response to brief infusion of BDNF. Microarray expression profiling has revealed a panel of BDNF-regulated genes that may cooperate with Arc during synaptic consolidation. In addition to regulating gene expression, BDNF signaling modulates the fine localization and biochemical activation of the translation machinery. By modulating the spatial and temporal translation of newly induced (Arc) and constitutively-expressed mRNA in dendrites, BDNF may effectively control the window of synaptic consolidation. Dysregulation of BDNF synthesis and Arc function, specifically within the dentate gyrus, is linked to behavioral symptoms and cognitive deficits in animal models of depression and Alzheimer's disease. Therapeutics strategies targeting synaptic consolidation hold promise for the future.

Competitive interactions between endogenous LTD and LTP in the hippocampus underlie the storage of emotional memories and stress-induced amnesia

This speculative review serves two purposes. First, it as an extension of the ideas we developed in a previous review (Diamond et al., Hippocampus, 2004;14:281-291), and second, it is a rebuttal to Abraham's (Hippocampus, 2004;14:675-676) critique of that review. We had speculated on the functional significance of the finding that post-training LTP induction produces retrograde amnesia. We noted the similarities between the findings that strong tetanizing stimulation can produce LTP and retrograde amnesia, and that a strong emotional experience can produce a long-lasting memory and retrograde amnesia, as well. The commonalities between LTP induction and emotional learning provided the basis of our hypothesis that an emotional experience generates endogenous LTD/depotentiation, which reverses synaptic plasticity formed during previous learning experiences, and endogenous LTP, which underlies the storage of new information. Abraham raised several concerns with our review, including the criticism that our speculation "falters because there is no evidence that stress causes LTD or depotentiation," and that research on stress and hippocampus has "failed to report any LTP-like changes." Abraham's points are well-taken because stress, in isolation, does not appear to generate long-lasting changes in baseline measures of hippocampal excitability. Here, within the context of a reply to Abraham's critique, we have provided a review of the literature on the influence of stress, novelty, fear conditioning, and the retrieval of emotional memories on cognitive and physiological measures of hippocampal functioning. An emphasis of this review is our hypothesis that endogenous forms of depotentiation, LTD and LTP are generated only when arousing experiences occur in conjunction with memory-related activation of the hippocampus and amygdala. We conclude with speculation that interactions among the different forms of endogenous plasticity underlie a form of competition by synapses and memories for access to retrieval resources.