Kainate receptors act as conditional amplifiers of spike transmission at hippocampal mossy fiber synapses

S. Sachidhanandam, C. Blanchet, Y. Jeantet, Y. H. Cho, C. Mulle
Journal of Neuroscience. 2009-04-15; 29(15): 5000-5008
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5807-08.2009

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1. J Neurosci. 2009 Apr 15;29(15):5000-8. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5807-08.2009.

Kainate receptors act as conditional amplifiers of spike transmission at
hippocampal mossy fiber synapses.

Sachidhanandam S(1), Blanchet C, Jeantet Y, Cho YH, Mulle C.

Author information:
(1)Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Unité Mixte de Recherche
5091, Bordeaux Neuroscience Institute, University of Bordeaux, 33077 Bordeaux
Cedex, France.

Hippocampal mossy fiber (Mf) synapses are viewed as conditional detonators,
assisting CA3 cells in complex network functions. By analyzing mice deficient for
GluK2 (GluR6), GluK3 (GluR7) and GluK5 (KA2) genes we show that kainate receptors
(KARs) play a crucial role in the control of synaptic integration and spike
transmission efficacy at Mf synapses. We dissected out the role of the different
KAR functions at Mf synapses and we show that presynaptic and postsynaptic KARs
concur to amplify unitary Mf synaptic inputs to trigger spike discharge within a
wide range of frequencies (from 1 to 50 Hz). Moreover, KARs strongly favor spike
transmission in response to patterns of presynaptic activity mimicking in vivo
dentate granule cell activity. By amplifying spike transmission, KARs also
facilitate the induction of associative long-term potentiation in CA3. Hence the
actions of KARs as amplifiers of spike transmission contribute largely to the
« conditional detonator » function of Mf synapses and are likely important for
spatial information processing.

DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5807-08.2009
PMID: 19369569 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Auteurs Bordeaux Neurocampus