PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jing A. Wen
AU  - Mark C. DeBlois
AU  - Alison L. Barth
TI  - Initiation, Labile, and Stabilization Phases of Experience-Dependent Plasticity at Neocortical Synapses
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3575-12.2013
DP  - 2013 May 08
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 8483--8493
VI  - 33
IP  - 19
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/19/8483.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/33/19/8483.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2013 May 08; 33
AB  - Alteration of sensory input can change the strength of neocortical synapses. Selective activation of a subset of whiskers is sufficient to potentiate layer 4-layer 2/3 excitatory synapses in the mouse somatosensory (barrel) cortex, a process that is NMDAR dependent. By analyzing the time course of sensory-induced synaptic change, we have identified three distinct phases for synaptic strengthening in vivo. After an early, NMDAR-dependent phase where selective whisker activation is rapidly translated into increased synaptic strength, we identify a second phase where this potentiation is profoundly reduced by an input-specific, NMDAR-dependent depression. This labile phase is transient, lasting only a few hours, and may require ongoing sensory input for synaptic weakening. Residual synaptic strength is maintained in a third phase, the stabilization phase, which requires mGluR5 signaling. Identification of these three phases will facilitate a molecular dissection of the pathways that regulate synaptic lability and stabilization, and suggest potential approaches to modulate learning.