Henze D A, Urban N N, Barrionuevo G
Department of Neuroscience and Center for Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
Neuroscience. 2000;98(3):407-27. doi: 10.1016/s0306-4522(00)00146-9.
The hippocampal mossy fiber pathway between the granule cells of the dentate gyrus and the pyramidal cells of area CA3 has been the target of numerous scientific studies. Initially, attention was focused on the mossy fiber to CA3 pyramidal cell synapse because it was suggested to be a model synapse for studying the basic properties of synaptic transmission in the CNS. However, the accumulated body of research suggests that the mossy fiber synapse is rather unique in that it has many distinct features not usually observed in cortical synapses. In this review, we have attempted to summarize the many unique features of this hippocampal pathway. We also have attempted to reconcile some discrepancies that exist in the literature concerning the pharmacology, physiology and plasticity of this pathway. In addition we also point out some of the experimental challenges that make electrophysiological study of this pathway so difficult.Finally, we suggest that understanding the functional role of the hippocampal mossy fiber pathway may lie in an appreciation of its variety of unique properties that make it a strong yet broadly modulated synaptic input to postsynaptic targets in the hilus of the dentate gyrus and area CA3 of the hippocampal formation.
齿状回颗粒细胞与海马CA3区锥体细胞之间的海马苔藓纤维通路一直是众多科学研究的对象。最初，注意力集中在苔藓纤维与CA3锥体细胞的突触上，因为它被认为是研究中枢神经系统突触传递基本特性的模型突触。然而，积累的研究表明，苔藓纤维突触相当独特，因为它具有许多在皮质突触中通常未观察到的明显特征。在这篇综述中，我们试图总结这条海马通路的许多独特特征。我们还试图调和文献中关于该通路的药理学、生理学和可塑性方面存在的一些差异。此外，我们还指出了一些使该通路的电生理研究如此困难的实验挑战。最后，我们认为，理解海马苔藓纤维通路的功能作用可能在于认识到它具有多种独特特性，这些特性使其成为对齿状回门区和海马结构CA3区的突触后靶点强大而广泛调节的突触输入。
