Department of Physiology.
Biomembrane Plasticity Research Center, and.
J Neurosci. 2019 Jan 9;39(2):224-237. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2935-17.2018. Epub 2018 Nov 20.
The input-output relationships in neural circuits are determined not only by synaptic efficacy but also by neuronal excitability. Activity-dependent alterations of synaptic efficacy have been extensively investigated, but relatively less is known about how the neuronal output is modulated when synaptic efficacy changes are associated with neuronal excitability changes. In this study, we demonstrate that paired pulses of low-frequency stimulation (PP-LFS) induced metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR)-dependent LTD at Schaffer collateral (SC)-CA1 synapses in Sprague Dawley rats (both sexes), and this LTD was associated with EPSP to spike (E-S) potentiation, leading to the increase in action potential (AP) outputs. Threshold voltage (V) for APs evoked by synaptic stimulation and that by somatic current injection were hyperpolarized significantly after PP-LFS. Blockers of GABA receptors mimicked and occluded PP-LFS effects on E-S potentiation and V hyperpolarization, suggesting that suppression of GABAergic mechanisms is involved in E-S potentiation after PP-LFS. Indeed, IPSCs and tonic inhibitory currents were reduced after PP-LFS. The IPSC reduction was accompanied by increased paired-pulse ratio, and abolished by AM251, a blocker for Type 1 cannabinoid receptors, suggesting that PP-LFS suppresses presynaptic GABA release by mGluR-dependent endocannabinoids signaling. By contrast, a Group 1 mGluR agonist, 3, 5-dihydroxyphenylglycine, induced LTD at SC-CA1 synapses but failed to induce significant IPSC reduction and AP output increase. We propose that mGluR signaling that induces LTD coexpression at excitatory and inhibitory synapses regulates an excitation-inhibition balance to increase neuronal output in CA1 neurons. Long-lasting forms of synaptic plasticity are usually associated with excitability changes, the ability to fire action potentials. However, excitability changes have been regarded to play subsidiary roles to synaptic plasticity in modifying neuronal output. We demonstrate that, when metabotropic glutamate receptor-dependent LTD is induced by paired pulses of low-frequency stimulation, the action potential output in response to a given input paradoxically increases, indicating that increased excitability is more powerful than synaptic depression. This increase is mediated by the suppression of a presynaptic GABA release via metabotropic glutamate receptor-dependent endocannabinoid signaling. Our study shows that neuronal output changes do not always follow the direction of synaptic plasticity at excitatory synapses, highlighting the importance of regulating inhibitory tone via endocannabinoid signaling.
神经元回路中的输入-输出关系不仅取决于突触效能,还取决于神经元兴奋性。突触效能的活性依赖性改变已经得到广泛研究,但当突触效能变化与神经元兴奋性变化相关时,神经元输出如何被调节的了解相对较少。在这项研究中,我们证明了在 Sprague Dawley 大鼠(雌雄两性)的 Schaffer 侧枝(SC)-CA1 突触中,低频刺激的成对脉冲(PP-LFS)诱导代谢型谷氨酸受体(mGluR)依赖性 LTD,并且这种 LTD 与 EPSP 至尖峰(E-S)增强有关,导致动作电位(AP)输出增加。由突触刺激和体电流注射诱发的 AP 的阈电压(V)在 PP-LFS 后显著超极化。GABA 受体的阻断剂模拟并阻断了 PP-LFS 对 E-S 增强和 V 超极化的作用,表明抑制 GABA 能机制参与了 PP-LFS 后的 E-S 增强。事实上,PP-LFS 后 IPSC 和紧张性抑制电流减少。IPSC 减少伴随着成对脉冲比的增加,并被 AM251 (一种 1 型大麻素受体阻断剂)消除,表明 PP-LFS 通过 mGluR 依赖性内源性大麻素信号抑制突触前 GABA 释放。相比之下,1 组 mGluR 激动剂,3,5-二羟基苯甘氨酸,在 SC-CA1 突触诱导 LTD,但未能诱导显著的 IPSC 减少和 AP 输出增加。我们提出,在兴奋性和抑制性突触共表达诱导 LTD 的 mGluR 信号调节 CA1 神经元的兴奋-抑制平衡以增加神经元输出。长时程突触可塑性通常与兴奋性变化相关,即产生动作电位的能力。然而,兴奋性变化被认为在修饰神经元输出方面发挥辅助作用,而不是突触可塑性。我们证明,当低频刺激的成对脉冲诱导代谢型谷氨酸受体依赖性 LTD 时,对给定输入的动作电位输出反而增加,这表明兴奋性增加比突触抑制更有效。这种增加是通过代谢型谷氨酸受体依赖性内源性大麻素信号抑制突触前 GABA 释放来介导的。我们的研究表明,当代谢型谷氨酸受体依赖性 LTD 由低频刺激的成对脉冲诱导时,神经元输出的变化并不总是与兴奋性突触的突触可塑性方向一致,这突出了通过内源性大麻素信号调节抑制性音调的重要性。