Open AccessLong-term transformation of an inhibitory into an excitatory GABAergic synaptic response.
Author(s) -
Daniel L. Alkon,
Juan Vicente SánchezAndrés,
Etsuro Ito,
Kotaro Oka,
Tohru Yoshioka,
Carlos Collin
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.89.24.11862
Subject(s) - excitatory postsynaptic potential , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , neuroscience , synaptic augmentation , postsynaptic potential , gabaergic , long term potentiation , synaptic fatigue , chemistry , synaptic plasticity , postsynaptic current , neurotransmission , neural facilitation , gabaa receptor , biology , biophysics , receptor , biochemistry
For a constant membrane potential, a predominantly inhibitory GABAergic synaptic response is shown to undergo long-term transformation into an excitatory response after pairing of exogenous gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) with postsynaptic depolarization or pairing of pre- and postsynaptic stimulation. Current- and voltage-clamp experiments suggest that this synaptic transformation is due to a shift from a net increase of conductance to a net decrease of conductance in response to GABA. GABA-induced elevation of intracellular calcium is prolonged after the same stimulus pairing and may, therefore, contribute to this synaptic transformation via Ca(2+)-activated phosphorylation pathways. This synaptic transformation, which does not follow unpaired stimulus presentations, occurs in a neuronal compartment spatially separated from the soma, which also changes during stimulus pairing.