Activity-dependent tuning and the NMDA receptor

Debski, E. A., Cline, H. T., Constantine-Paton, M. (January 1990) Activity-dependent tuning and the NMDA receptor. J Neurobiol, 21 (1). pp. 18-32.

URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2156953
DOI: 10.1002/neu.480210103

Abstract

The refinement of the topographic map of visual space within the optic tectum of the frog is activity-dependent. The use of the three-eyed frog preparation to assay the operation of this fine-tuning mechanism indicates that this process is mediated by the NMDA receptor: Chronic in vivo treatment with APV, an NMDA antagonist, disrupts the segregation of retinal afferents into eye-specific zones while NMDA treatment sharpens this pattern. This latter effect is accompanied by a decreased sensitivity of the system to applied NMDA. Activation of the NMDA receptor may mediate the fine-tuning mechanism by initiating the stabilization of appropriate synapses. The requirements for NMDA receptor activation necessitate the convergence of terminals carrying correlated activity patterns. Such patterns of activity are provided by ganglion cells whose cell bodies lie near one another in the retina, and who should therefore, in an accurate visual map, terminate near one another in the tectum. Synapses from ganglion cells who do not neighbor one another in the retina have uncorrelated firing patterns and therefore do not activate the NMDA receptor. These synapses then would not be stabilized relative to one another. In addition to organizing the retinal projection, NMDA receptor activation may also modulate retinal ganglion cell arbor morphology, since chronic in vivo APV or NMDA treatments decrease arbor density. These results are discussed in terms of the effect of NMDA receptor activation on branch initiation and the rate of branch retraction.

Item Type: Paper
Uncontrolled Keywords: Animals Aspartic Acid/*analogs & derivatives/metabolism/pharmacology/physiology N-Methylaspartate Neuronal Plasticity/*drug effects Ranidae Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptors, Neurotransmitter/drug effects/metabolism/*physiology Retina/*physiology Retinal Ganglion Cells/cytology/metabolism/*physiology Superior Colliculus/cytology/metabolism/*physiology Visual Pathways/metabolism/*physiology
Subjects: bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > protein structure, function, modification > protein types > NMDA receptor
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > cell types and functions > cell functions > neural plasticity
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > tissues types and functions > visual cortex
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Cline lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: January 1990
Date Deposited: 06 Apr 2016 15:51
Last Modified: 06 Apr 2016 15:51
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/32248

Actions (login required)

Administrator's edit/view item Administrator's edit/view item
CSHL HomeAbout CSHLResearchEducationNews & FeaturesCampus & Public EventsCareersGiving