Enhanced synaptic plasticity in newly generated granule cells of the adult hippocampus

Neural stem cells in various regions of the vertebrate brain continuously generate neurons throughout life 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 . In the mammalian hippocampus, a region important for spatial and episodic memory 5 , 6 , thousands of new granule cells are produced per day 7 , with the exact number depending...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2004-05, Vol.429 (6988), p.184-187
Main Authors: Schmidt-Hieber, Christoph, Jonas, Peter, Bischofberger, Josef
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action Potentials
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Calcium - metabolism
Calcium Channels, T-Type - metabolism
Cell Differentiation
Cellular Senescence
Dendrites - metabolism
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hippocampus - cytology
Hippocampus - physiology
Humanities and Social Sciences
In Vitro Techniques
letter
Long-Term Potentiation
Male
Memory - physiology
multidisciplinary
Neuronal Plasticity
Rats
Rats, Wistar
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Sodium - metabolism
Synapses - metabolism
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
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Summary:Neural stem cells in various regions of the vertebrate brain continuously generate neurons throughout life 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 . In the mammalian hippocampus, a region important for spatial and episodic memory 5 , 6 , thousands of new granule cells are produced per day 7 , with the exact number depending on environmental conditions and physical exercise 1 , 8 . The survival of these neurons is improved by learning and conversely learning may be promoted by neurogenesis 8 , 9 , 10 . Although it has been suggested that newly generated neurons may have specific properties to facilitate learning 2 , 10 , 11 , the cellular and synaptic mechanisms of plasticity in these neurons are largely unknown. Here we show that young granule cells in the adult hippocampus differ substantially from mature granule cells in both active and passive membrane properties. In young neurons, T-type Ca 2+ channels can generate isolated Ca 2+ spikes and boost fast Na + action potentials, contributing to the induction of synaptic plasticity. Associative long-term potentiation can be induced more easily in young neurons than in mature neurons under identical conditions. Thus, newly generated neurons express unique mechanisms to facilitate synaptic plasticity, which may be important for the formation of new memories.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/nature02553