The hippocampus, a component of the limbic system, plays important roles in long-term memory and spatial navigation. Hippocampal neurons can modify the strength of their connections after brief periods of strong activation. This phenomenon, known as long-term potentiation (LTP) can last for hours or days and has become the best candidate mechanism for learning and memory. In addition, the well ...

Endocannabinoids released from the postsynaptic neuronal membrane can activate presynaptic CB1 receptors and inhibit neurotransmitter release. In hippocampal slices, depolarization of the CA1 pyramidal neurons elicits an endocannabinoid-mediated inhibition of GABA release known as depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition (DSI). Utilizing the highly reduced neuron/synaptic bouton prepara...

Activity-dependent insertion of AMPA-type glutamate receptors is thought to underlie long-term potentiation (LTP) at Schaffer collateral fiber synapses on pyramidal cells in the hippocampal CA1 region. Although it is widely accepted that the AMPA receptors at these synapses contain GluR2 subunits, recent findings suggest that LTP in hippocampal slices obtained from 2 – 3 week old rodents is dep...

Hippocampal interneurons inhibit pyramidal neurons through the release of the neurotransmitter GABA. Given the importance of this inhibition for the proper functioning of the hippocampus, the development of inhibitory synapses must be tightly regulated. In this study, the possibility that neuronal activity and neurotrophins regulate the density of GABAergic inhibitory synapses was investigated ...

Exposure of rat hippocampal slices to low concentrations of the muscarinic agonist carbachol (CCh) has been shown to produce a slow onset long-term potentiation (LTP) of reactivity to afferent stimulation in CA1 neurons. Although this potentiation shares a number of properties with tetanic LTP, muscarinic LTP (LTPm) is independent of activation of the NMDA receptor. We now demonstrate that low ...

Hippocampal memory-associated synaptic plasticity is driven by a cascade of transcription and new protein synthesis. In vitro electrophysiological studies on acute hippocampal slices have elucidated much of what we know about this molecular cascade. Curiously, these slices require a period of "equilibration" for the recovery of electrophysiological properties such as LTP, implying ongoing time-...

Endocannabinoids released from the postsynaptic neuronal membrane can activate presynaptic CB1 receptors and inhibit neurotransmitter release. In hippocampal slices, depolarization of the CA1 pyramidal neurons elicits an endocannabinoid-mediated inhibition of gamma-aminobutyric acid release known as depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition (DSI). Using the highly reduced neuron/synaptic...

We have developed a microfluidic perfusion-based culture system to study long-term in-vitro responses of organotypic brain slices exposed to localized neurochemical stimulation. Using this microperfusion chamber we show that hippocampal organotypic brain slices cultures grown on nitrocellulose membranes can be stimulated for up to 24 hours in our experimental setup while preserving tissue viabi...

It has been suggested that glucocorticoids released during stress might impair neuronal function by decreasing glucose uptake by hippocampal neurons. Previous work has demonstrated that glucose uptake is reduced in hippocampal and cerebral cortex slices 24 h after exposure to acute stress, while no effect was observed after repeated stress. Here, we report the effect of acute and repeated restr...

The low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-related protein (LRP) is a multifunctional endocytic receptor that is expressed abundantly in neurons of the CNS. Both LRP and several of its ligands, including tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), apolipoprotein E/lipoproteins, alpha(2)-macroglobulin, and the beta-amyloid precursor protein, have been implicated in various neuronal functions and in the ...