Ortho-substituted polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a concern to human developmental health. Rat dams were exposed to an environmentally relevant mixture of PCBs, Aroclor 1254, or pure congener PCB 95 (6 mg/kg/day) during the perinatal period (GD 5 through PD 21). Hippocampal slices prepared from offspring 1-3 weeks post-weaning were tested for persisting changes in sensitivity to the excito...

There is increasing evidence that oxygen free radicals contribute to ischemic brain injury. It is unclear, however, to what extent specific antioxidant enzymes can prevent or reverse the impairment of synaptic function caused by transient hypoxia. In this study, we investigated in transgenic (Tg) mice whether a moderate increase in glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx1) may improve the capacity of CA1...

Ion currents such as M-currents (I(M)), persistent sodium currents (I(NaP)) and H-currents (I(h)) have been observed in a variety of brain regions, including the hippocampal formation, where storage and retrieval of information are facilitated by oscillatory network activities. They have been suggested to play an important role in neuronal excitability, synaptic transmission, membrane oscillato...

BACKGROUND The hippocampus is critically involved in learning and memory processes. Although once considered a relatively homogenous structure, it is now clear that the hippocampus can be divided along its longitudinal axis into functionally distinct domains, responsible for the encoding of different types of memory or behaviour. Although differences in extrinsic connectivity are likely to cont...

Hippocampal slices have long been used to investigate properties of synaptic transmission and plasticity. Here, for the first time, synapses in slices have been compared quantitatively with synapses occurring in perfusion-fixed hippocampus, which is presumed to represent the natural in vivo state. Relative to perfusion-fixed hippocampus, a remarkable 40-50% increase in spine number occurs in ad...

Enduring forms of synaptic plasticity and memory require new protein synthesis, but little is known about the underlying regulatory mechanisms. Here, we investigate the role of MAPK signaling in these processes. Conditional expression of a dominant-negative form of MEK1 in the postnatal murine forebrain inhibited ERK activation and caused selective deficits in hippocampal memory retention and t...

To assess the putative role of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) upon nitric oxide (NO) production in the hippocampus, we used as a model both rat hippocampal slices and isolated hippocampal neurons in culture, lacking glial cells. In hippocampal slices, additions of exogenous ATP or 2'(3')-O-(4-Benzoylbenzoyl) ATP (Bz-ATP) elicited concentration-dependent NO production, which increased linearly wit...

Estrogens have long been implicated in influencing cognitive processes, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects and the roles of the estrogen receptors alpha (ERa) and beta (ERb) remain unclear. Using pharmacological, biochemical and behavioral techniques, we demonstrate that the effects of estrogen on hippocampal synaptic plasticity and memory are mediated through ERb. Selective ...

Background Nasal pretreatment with the neuropeptide oxytocin has been reported to prevent stress-induced impairments in hippocampal synaptic plasticity and spatial memory in rats. However, no study has asked if oxytocin application following a stress experience is effective in rescuing stress-induced impairments. Methods Synaptic plasticity was measured in hippocampal Schaffer collateral-CA1 ...

The ovarian steroid hormones estradiol and progesterone regulate a wide variety of non-reproductive functions in the central nervous system by interacting with molecular and cellular processes. A growing literature from studies using rodent models suggests that 17β-estradiol, the most potent of the biologically relevant estrogens, enhances synaptic transmission and the magnitude of long-term po...