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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Long-Term Potentiation in the Neonatal Rat Barrel Cortex In Vivo
Heiko J. LuhmannWerner KilbShuming AnJenq-wei YangHaiyan Sunsubject
animal structuresPatch-Clamp TechniquesLong-Term PotentiationBiophysicsStimulationBiologyIn Vitro TechniquesStatistics NonparametricIn vivoCortex (anatomy)Evoked Potentials SomatosensoryExtracellularmedicineAnimalsNeuronsSerotonin Plasma Membrane Transport ProteinsCortical circuitsNeonatal ratAfferent PathwaysGeneral Neurosciencemusculoskeletal neural and ocular physiologyAge FactorsLong-term potentiationSomatosensory CortexBarrel cortexElectric StimulationVoltage-Sensitive Dye ImagingRatsmedicine.anatomical_structurenervous systemAnimals NewbornVibrissaeBiophysicsBrief CommunicationsNeurosciencedescription
Long-term potentiation (LTP) is important for the activity-dependent formation of early cortical circuits. In the neonatal rodent barrel cortex, LTP has been studied only in vitro . We combined voltage-sensitive dye imaging with extracellular multielectrode recordings to study whisker stimulation-induced LTP in the whisker-to-barrel cortex pathway of the neonatal rat barrel cortex in vivo . Single whisker stimulation at 2 Hz for 10 min induced an age-dependent expression of LTP in postnatal day (P) 0 to P14 rats, with the strongest expression of LTP at P3–P5. The magnitude of LTP was largest in the activated barrel-related column, smaller in the surrounding septal region, and no LTP could be observed in the neighboring barrel. Current source density analyses revealed an LTP-associated increase of synaptic current sinks in layer IV/lower layer II/III at P3–P5 and in the cortical plate/upper layer V at P0–P1. Our study demonstrates for the first time an age-dependent and spatially confined LTP in the barrel cortex of the newborn rat in vivo .
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-07-11 |