INPUT-SPECIFIC INDUCTION OF LONG-TERM DEPRESSION IN CA2+-CHELATED VISUAL-CORTEX NEURONS

AN input-dependent increase in postsynaptic Ca+ may play a role in long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic transmission while no or subthreshold increase in Ca2+ is associated with long-term depression (LTD) in the developing visual cortex. To see whether LTD is induced only at tetanized synapses, a Ca2+-chelator was injected into layer 2/3 neurons in cortical slices from young rats, and excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) of these cells, after test stimulation of the white matter and layer 1/2, were observed before and after tetanic stimulation of the former site. The chelator injection led to LTD of EPSPs at tetanized synapses, but no changes were seen at non-tetanized synapses. These results suggest that tetanic inputs induce LTD at tetanized synapses when they are associated with no or subtle increase in postsynaptic Ca2+.