Differential ability of the dorsal and ventral rat hippocampus to exhibit group I metabotropic glutamate receptor–dependent synaptic and intrinsic plasticity:

摘要

Background:The hippocampus is critically involved in learning and memory processes. Although once considered a relatively homogenous structure, it is now clear that the hippocampus can be divided along its longitudinal axis into functionally distinct domains, responsible for the encoding of different types of memory or behaviour. Although differences in extrinsic connectivity are likely to contribute to this functional differentiation, emerging evidence now suggests that cellular and molecular differences at the level of local hippocampal circuits may also play a role.Methods:In this study, we have used extracellular field potential recordings to compare basal input/output function and group I metabotropic glutamate receptor-dependent forms of synaptic and intrinsic plasticity in area CA1 of slices taken from the dorsal and ventral sectors of the adult rat hippocampus.Results:Using two extracellular electrodes to simultaneously record field EPSPs and population spikes, we show that dorsal and ventral hipp...