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The Journal of Neuroscience, April 15, 2009, 29(15):5000-5008; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5807-08.2009

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Cellular/Molecular
Kainate Receptors Act as Conditional Amplifiers of Spike Transmission at Hippocampal Mossy Fiber Synapses

Shankar Sachidhanandam,¹ Christophe Blanchet,¹ Yannick Jeantet,² Yoon H. Cho,² and Christophe Mulle¹

¹Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Unité Mixte de Recherche (UMR) 5091, Bordeaux Neuroscience Institute, University of Bordeaux, 33077 Bordeaux Cedex, France, and ²CNRS UMR 5228, Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Bordeaux, 33405 Talence Cedex, France

Correspondence should be addressed to Christophe Mulle at the above address. Email: mulle{at}u-bordeaux2.fr

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.

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Received Dec. 5, 2008; revised Feb. 16, 2009; accepted March 9, 2009.

Correspondence should be addressed to Christophe Mulle at the above address. Email: mulle{at}u-bordeaux2.fr

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