Regional differences in GABAergic modulation for TEA-induced synaptic plasticity in rat hippocampal CA1, CA3 and dentate gyrus

Abstract

Tetraethylammonium (TEA), a K +-channel blocker, reportedly induces long-term potentiation (LTP) of hippocampal CA1 synaptic responses, but at CA3 and the dentate gyrus (DG), the characteristics of TEA-induced plasticity and modulation by inhibitory interneurons remain unclear. This study recorded field EPSPs from CA1, CA3 and DG to examine the involvement of GABAergic modulation in TEA-induced synaptic plasticity for each region. In Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses and associational fiber (AF)-CA3 synapses, bath application of TEA-induced LTP in the presence and absence of picrotoxin (PTX), a GABA A receptor blocker, whereas TEA-induced LTP at mossy fiber (MF)-CA3 synapses was detected only in the absence of GABA A receptor blockers. MF-CA3 LTP showed sensitivity to Ni 2+, but not to nifedipine. In DG, synaptic plasticity was modulated by GABAergic inputs, but characteristics differed between the afferent lateral perforant path (LPP) and medial perforant path (MPP). LPP-DG synapses showed TEA-induced LTP during PTX application, whereas at MPP-DG synapses, TEA-induced long-term depression (LTD) was seen in the absence of PTX. This series of results demonstrates that TEA-induced DG and CA3 plasticity displays afferent specificity and is exposed to GABAergic modulation in an opposite manner.