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Spike timing-dependent long-term potentiation in ventral tegmental area dopamine cells requires PKC.
- Source :
-
Journal of neurophysiology [J Neurophysiol] 2008 Jul; Vol. 100 (1), pp. 533-8. Date of Electronic Publication: 2008 Apr 30. - Publication Year :
- 2008
-
Abstract
- Long-term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory synapses on ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine (DA) cells is thought to play an important role in mediating some of the behavioral effects of drugs of abuse yet little is known about its underlying mechanisms. We find that spike timing-dependent LTP (STD LTP) in VTA DA cells is absent in slices prepared from mice previously administered cocaine, suggesting that cocaine-induced LTP and STD LTP share underlying mechanisms. This form of STD LTP is dependent on NMDA receptor (NMDAR) activation and a rise in postsynaptic calcium but surprisingly was not affected by an inhibitor of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). It was blocked by antagonists of conventional isoforms of PKC, whereas activation of protein kinase C (PKC) using a phorbol ester enhanced synaptic strength. These results suggest that NMDAR-mediated activation of PKC, but not CaMKII, is a critical trigger for LTP in VTA DA cells.
- Subjects :
- Animals
Cocaine pharmacology
Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors pharmacology
Electric Stimulation methods
Enzyme Inhibitors pharmacology
Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists pharmacology
Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials drug effects
Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials physiology
Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials radiation effects
Female
In Vitro Techniques
Long-Term Potentiation drug effects
Long-Term Potentiation radiation effects
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Neurons drug effects
Neurons radiation effects
Patch-Clamp Techniques methods
Phorbol Esters pharmacology
Time Factors
Valine analogs & derivatives
Valine pharmacology
Dopamine metabolism
Long-Term Potentiation physiology
Neurons physiology
Protein Kinase C physiology
Ventral Tegmental Area cytology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0022-3077
- Volume :
- 100
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of neurophysiology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 18450581
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.01384.2007