WWW.JNEUROSCI.ORG
-
The Journal of Neuroscience
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     
-


HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP
The Journal of Neuroscience, April 1, 2009, 29(13):4131-4139; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5466-08.2009

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit an eLetter
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Penzo, M. A.
Right arrow Articles by Peña, J. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Penzo, M. A.
Right arrow Articles by Peña, J. L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Development/Plasticity/Repair
Endocannabinoid-Mediated Long-Term Depression in the Avian Midbrain Expressed Presynaptically and Postsynaptically

Mario Alexander Penzo and José Luis Peña

Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461

Correspondence should be addressed to José L. Peña, Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, 1410 Pelham Parkway, Bronx, NY 10461. Email: jpena{at}aecom.yu.edu

Here, we examined long-term synaptic plasticity in the avian auditory midbrain, a region involved in experience-dependent learning. We found that coactivation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) and type 1 cannabinoid receptors (CB1R) induces long-term depression (LTD) at the synapse between the central shell and the external portion of the inferior colliculus of the chicken. Although endocannabinoids are commonly thought of as presynaptic modulators, recent reports have suggested that they can also modulate the postsynaptic site. In the avian midbrain, we found that LTD is mediated by both presynaptic and postsynaptic changes. The presynaptic mechanism consists of a decrease in neurotransmitter release, whereas a depression of NMDAR-mediated current takes place on the postsynaptic side. Both the presynaptic and the postsynaptic effects depend on CB1R activation. The reduction of postsynaptic NMDAR currents represents a novel role of endocannabinoids in synaptic modulation.

Received Nov. 12, 2008; revised Feb. 19, 2009; accepted Feb. 25, 2009.

Correspondence should be addressed to José L. Peña, Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, 1410 Pelham Parkway, Bronx, NY 10461. Email: jpena{at}aecom.yu.edu






 -
-

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help
-
Copyright 2009 by Society for Neuroscience ONLINE ISSN: 1529-2401
-