synaptic plasticity 1 Flashcards
what is plasticity?
relates to the idea that the nervous system is constantly modifiable
this is how we adapt to our changning environment, learn, develop skills and store information
how can plasticity occur?
physiologically due to acitivity or due to injury/disease/addiction
functional cortical plasticty
motor training (e.g in pianists) changes the motor homonuclus in areas associated with fingers and hands
injury dependent cortical plasticity
e.g finger amputation
homoculus changes for removed digits, those regions that were previously represented by digits is taken over by the other fingers and their cortical territories largens
types of neuroplasticity
- enhancement of existing connections
- formation of new connections
examples of enhacement of existing connections
a. synapse development
b. synapse strengthening
examples of formation of new connections
a. unmasking
b. sprouting
duration of enhancement of existing connections
ms-1 to hours to days
duration of formation of new connections
minutes to days to months
what can change in the brain to bring about plasticity?
action potentials (all or nothing so cant change size but can change frequency)
synaptic transmission
why do we use the hippocampus to study learning and memory?
it has an identified role (spatial learning in rodents and humans)
has a simple neuronal structure
what is hebb’s postulate?
neurons that fire together wire together
the hippocampal network
- input from entorhinal cortex that forms connections with the dentate gyrus and CA3 pyramidal neurosn via the perfornat path
- CA3 neurons also receive input from the DG via mossy fibres
- they send axons to CA1 pyramidal cells via the schaffer collateral pathway as well as to CA1 cells in the contralateral hippocampus via the associational commissural pathway
- CA1 neurons also receive input directly from the perforant path and send axons to the subiculum
- these neurons send the main hippocampal back to the entorhinal cortex forming a loop
what is long-term potentiation?
strength of synaptic connections between neurons is increased following repeated or persistent stimulation
bliss and lomo 1973
put recording electrode on dentate gyrus of rabbits
stimulation of axons at a low basal rate (one stimulus per 15 seconds) produced a stable synaptic response in the EPSP
single high frequency train resulted in persistent increase in response size- LTP
basic properties of hippocampal LTP
- long-lasting
- input specificity
- cooperativity
- associativity
input specificity in hippocampal LTP
if you stimulate two independent inputs and deliver a high frequency to one input, only that input shows LTP
cooperativity and hippocampal LTP
there is a threshold for LTP induction
e.g 20 stimuli at 100Hz doesnt induce LTP but if you use 100 stimuli at 100Hz then you do
associativity and hippocampal LTP
if a weak tetanus which doesnt induce LTPis delivered at the same time as a strong tetanus id delivered to a second input then the subthreshold tetanus now induces LTP
the two sets of synapses act associatively
other properties of hippocampal LTP
- can be reversed
- can be saturated (cant continually produce potentiation)
mechanisms of hippocampal LTP
CA3-CA1 hippocampal synapse is glutamatergic
AMPAR glutamate- basal transmission at this synapse
NMDAR glutamate- responsible for LTP induction
(also kainate and metabotropic glutamate receptors)
APV and LTP
APV is an NMDA receptor antagonist so blocks LTP but there is still glutamate transmission
