JN Watch the video to see how APS reaches out to developing nations.
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

J Neurophysiol (December 5, 2007). doi:10.1152/jn.01169.2007
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplemental Figures
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
99/2/524    most recent
01169.2007v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (7)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Harris, A. Z.
Right arrow Articles by Pettit, D. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Harris, A. Z.
Right arrow Articles by Pettit, D. L.
Submitted on October 22, 2007
Accepted on November 30, 2007

Recruiting Extrasynaptic NMDA Receptors Augments Synaptic Signaling

Alexander Z. Harris1 and Diana L. Pettit1*

1 Neuroscience, Albert Einstein Col. of Med., Bronx, New York, United States

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dpettit{at}aecom.yu.ed.

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) activation may promote cell survival or initiate cell death, with the outcome dependent on whether synaptic or extrasynaptic receptors are activated. Similarly, this differential activation has been proposed to govern the direction of plasticity. However, the physiological parameters necessary to activate extrasynaptic NMDARs in brain slices remain unknown. Using the irreversible use-dependent NMDAR antagonist MK-801 to isolate extrasynaptic NMDARs, we have tested the ability of short stimulation trains from 5-400 Hz to activate these receptors on CA1 hippocampal slice pyramidal neurons. Frequencies as low as 25 Hz engage extrasynaptic NMDARs, with maximal activation at frequencies between 100-200 Hz. Since similar bursts of synaptic input occur during exploratory behavior in rats, our results demonstrate that extrasynaptic NMDARs regularly participate in synaptic transmission. Further, 175 Hz stimulation trains activate all available synaptic and extrasynaptic dendritic NMDARs, suggesting these NMDARs act as synaptic receptors as needed, transiently increasing synaptic strength. Thus, extrasynaptic NMDARs play a vital role in synaptic physiology, calling into question their status as extrasynaptic.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
F. Longordo, C. Kopp, M. Mishina, R. Lujan, and A. Luthi
NR2A at CA1 Synapses Is Obligatory for the Susceptibility of Hippocampal Plasticity to Sleep Loss
J. Neurosci., July 15, 2009; 29(28): 9026 - 9041.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 FASEB J.Home page
F. Leveille, F. El gaamouch, E. Gouix, M. Lecocq, D. Lobner, O. Nicole, and A. Buisson
Neuronal viability is controlled by a functional relation between synaptic and extrasynaptic NMDA receptors
FASEB J, December 1, 2008; 22(12): 4258 - 4271.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Physiol.Home page
J. Yang, S. E. L. Chamberlain, G. L. Woodhall, and R. S. G. Jones
Mobility of NMDA autoreceptors but not postsynaptic receptors at glutamate synapses in the rat entorhinal cortex
J. Physiol., October 15, 2008; 586(20): 4905 - 4924.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
Visit Other APS Journals Online
Copyright © 2007 by the The American Physiological Society.