Coordination between presynaptic and postsynaptic properties measured at single terminals in hippocampal cultures

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2003.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Murnick, Jonathan G. (Jonathan George), 1972-
Other Authors: Guosong Liu.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87455
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author Murnick, Jonathan G. (Jonathan George), 1972-
author2 Guosong Liu.
author_facet Guosong Liu.
Murnick, Jonathan G. (Jonathan George), 1972-
author_sort Murnick, Jonathan G. (Jonathan George), 1972-
collection MIT
description Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2003.
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spelling mit-1721.1/874552019-04-12T15:55:03Z Coordination between presynaptic and postsynaptic properties measured at single terminals in hippocampal cultures Murnick, Jonathan G. (Jonathan George), 1972- Guosong Liu. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2003. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 68-71). I examined the spatial scale at which pre-synaptic activity interacts with synaptic strength and developmental events in the post-synaptic cell. I performed this work in primary hippocampal cultures of postnatal Sprague-Dawley rats after 8-10 days in vitro. I measured electrophysiologically the functional addition of GluR2 and NR2A subunits to AMPA and NMDA receptors, respectively, as well as the absolute strength of AMPA- and NMDA-mediated currents. I examined both spontaneous quantal events and local responses using glutamate iontophoresis at putative single-synaptic sites. I monitored pre-synaptic strength via vesicle staining with FM dyes. I found an inverse correlation between pre-synaptic and post-synaptic strength at individual synapses: Intensity of presynaptic FM-staining was inversely correlated with AMPA current magnitude measured by local iontophoretic stimulation. I also found a negative correlation at individual puncta between FM-staining intensity and decay time of iontophoretically-evoked NMDA decay current. Presumably, this correlation reflects a higher proportion of NR2A subunits at presynaptically more active synapses. I propose that homeostatic feedback mechanisms may operate at a subecellular level to maintain excitatory synaptic input at a single synapse or within a dendritic branch. In order to stimulate individual synaptic sites, I used a novel iontophoresis system, presented here. The system incorporates a 0.1 [mu]m electrode tip for local stimulation, combined with fast capacitance compensation to achieve high-speed application from a high-resistance tip. (cont.) Ejection of fluorescent dye from the electrode shows that transmitter can be limited to the width of a single synapse and to a time scale similar to an endogenous event. The speed and localization of transmitter is confirmed by iontophoretically stimulating single labeled synapses in cultured hippocampal neurons held under voltage clamp. The amount of transmitter ejected is linear and reproducible over a physiologically relevant range, making this technique useful for examining receptor kinetics and receptor insertion/removal. The system should be capable of delivering any charged neurotransmitter. by Jonathan G. Murnick. Ph.D. 2014-05-23T19:32:53Z 2014-05-23T19:32:53Z 2003 2003 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87455 54927391 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 77 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Murnick, Jonathan G. (Jonathan George), 1972-
Coordination between presynaptic and postsynaptic properties measured at single terminals in hippocampal cultures
title Coordination between presynaptic and postsynaptic properties measured at single terminals in hippocampal cultures
title_full Coordination between presynaptic and postsynaptic properties measured at single terminals in hippocampal cultures
title_fullStr Coordination between presynaptic and postsynaptic properties measured at single terminals in hippocampal cultures
title_full_unstemmed Coordination between presynaptic and postsynaptic properties measured at single terminals in hippocampal cultures
title_short Coordination between presynaptic and postsynaptic properties measured at single terminals in hippocampal cultures
title_sort coordination between presynaptic and postsynaptic properties measured at single terminals in hippocampal cultures
topic Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87455
work_keys_str_mv AT murnickjonathangjonathangeorge1972 coordinationbetweenpresynapticandpostsynapticpropertiesmeasuredatsingleterminalsinhippocampalcultures