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The Journal of Neuroscience, May 10, 2006, 26(19):5117-5130; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0319-06.2006
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Development/Plasticity/Repair
Depolarizing GABAergic Conductances Regulate the Balance of Excitation to Inhibition in the Developing Retinotectal Circuit In Vivo
Colin J. Akerman and
Hollis T. Cline
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724
Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Hollis Cline, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1 Bungtown Road, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724. Email: cline{at}cshl.org
Neurotransmission during development regulates synaptic maturation in neural circuits, but the contribution of different neurotransmitter systems is unclear. We investigated the role of GABAA receptor-mediated Cl conductances in the development of synaptic responses in the Xenopus visual system. Intracellular Cl concentration ([Cl]i) was found to be high in immature tectal neurons and then falls over a period of several weeks. GABAergic synapses are present at early stages of tectal development and, when activated by optic nerve stimulation or visual stimuli, induce sustained depolarizing Cl conductances that facilitate retinotectal transmission by NMDA receptors. To test whether depolarizing GABAergic inputs cooperate with NMDA receptors during activity-dependent maturation of glutamatergic synapses, we prematurely reduced [Cl]i in tectal neurons in vivo by expressing the Cl transporter KCC2. This blocked the normal developmental increase in AMPA receptor-mediated retinotectal transmission and increased GABAergic synaptic input to tectal neurons. Therefore, depolarizing GABAergic transmission plays a pivotal role in the maturation of excitatory transmission and controls the balance of excitation and inhibition in the developing retinotectal circuit.
Key words: synaptic development; activity-dependent; intracellular chloride; GABAergic transmission; glutamatergic transmission; visual system
Received Jan. 24, 2006;
revised March 25, 2006;
accepted April 1, 2006.
Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Hollis Cline, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1 Bungtown Road, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724. Email: cline{at}cshl.org
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