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The Journal of Neuroscience, November 1, 1998, 18(21):8863-8874
Silent Synapses in the Developing Rat Visual Cortex: Evidence for
Postsynaptic Expression of Synaptic Plasticity
Simon
Rumpel,
Hanns
Hatt, and
Kurt
Gottmann
Lehrstuhl für Zellphysiologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum,
D-44870 Bochum, Germany
In the developing visual cortex activity-dependent refinement of
synaptic connectivity is thought to involve synaptic plasticity processes analogous to long-term potentiation (LTP). The recently described conversion of so-called silent synapses to functional ones
might underlie some forms of LTP. Using whole-cell recording and
minimal stimulation procedures in immature pyramidal neurons, we
demonstrate here the existence of functionally silent synapses, i.e.,
glutamatergic synapses that show only NMDA receptor-mediated transmission, in the neonatal rat visual cortex. The incidence of
silent synapses strongly decreased during early postnatal development. After pairing presynaptic stimulation with postsynaptic depolarization, silent synapses were converted to functional ones in an LTP-like manner, as indicated by the long-lasting induction of AMPA
receptor-mediated synaptic transmission. This conversion was dependent
on the activation of NMDA receptors during the pairing protocol.
The selective activation of NMDA receptors at silent synapses could be
explained presynaptically by assuming a lower glutamate concentration
compared with functional ones. However, we found no differences in
glutamate concentration-dependent properties of NMDA receptor-mediated
PSCs, suggesting that synaptic glutamate concentration is similar in
silent and functional synapses. Our results thus support a postsynaptic
mechanism underlying silent synapses, i.e., that they do not contain
functional AMPA receptors. Synaptic plasticity at silent synapses might
be expressed postsynaptically by modification of nonfunctional AMPA
receptors or rapid membrane insertion of AMPA receptors. This
conversion of silent synapses to functional ones might play a major
role in activity-dependent synaptic refinement during development of
the visual cortex.
Key words:
visual cortex; synapse development; synaptic plasticity; silent synapses; AMPA receptor; NMDA receptor; glutamate
concentration
Copyright © 1998 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/98/18218863-12$05.00/0
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