ratio of NR2A/B NMDA receptor subunits determines the qualities of ocular dominance plasticity in visual cortex

Bidirectional synaptic plasticity during development ensures that appropriate synapses in the brain are strengthened and maintained while inappropriate connections are weakened and eliminated. This plasticity is well illustrated in mouse visual cortex, where monocular deprivation during early postna...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2009-03, Vol.106 (13), p.5377-5382
Main Authors: Cho, Kathleen K.A, Khibnik, Lena, Philpot, Benjamin D, Bear, Mark F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological Sciences
Brain
Dominance, Ocular
Eyes
Genetics
Long term depression
Long term potentiation
Mice
Mice, Knockout
N methyl D aspartate receptors
Neuronal Plasticity
Neurons
Neuroscience
Neurosciences
Ocular dominance
Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate - analysis
Rodents
Synapses
Theory
Vision, Monocular
Visual Cortex
Visual deprivation
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Summary:Bidirectional synaptic plasticity during development ensures that appropriate synapses in the brain are strengthened and maintained while inappropriate connections are weakened and eliminated. This plasticity is well illustrated in mouse visual cortex, where monocular deprivation during early postnatal development leads to a rapid depression of inputs from the deprived eye and a delayed strengthening of inputs from the non-deprived eye. The mechanisms that control these bidirectional synaptic modifications remain controversial. Here we demonstrate, both in vitro and in vivo, that genetic deletion or reduction of the NR2A NMDA receptor subunit impairs activity-dependent weakening of synapses and enhances the strengthening of synapses. Although brief monocular deprivation in juvenile WT mice normally causes a profound depression of the deprived-eye response without a change in the non-deprived eye response, NR2A-knockout mice fail to exhibit deprivation-induced depression and instead exhibit precocious potentiation of the non-deprived eye inputs. These data support the hypothesis that a reduction in the NR2A/B ratio during monocular deprivation is permissive for the compensatory potentiation of non-deprived inputs.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0808104106