Developmental changes in the fidelity and short-term plasticity of GABAergic synapses in the neonatal rat dorsal horn.

The lower thresholds and increased excitability of dorsal horn neurons in the neonatal rat suggest that inhibitory processing is less efficient in the immature spinal cord. This is unlikely to be explained by an absence of functional GABAergic inhibition because antagonism of gamma-aminobutyric acid...

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Váldodahkkit: Ingram, R, Fitzgerald, M, Baccei, M
Materiálatiipa: Journal article
Giella:English
Almmustuhtton: 2008
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author Ingram, R
Fitzgerald, M
Baccei, M
author_facet Ingram, R
Fitzgerald, M
Baccei, M
author_sort Ingram, R
collection OXFORD
description The lower thresholds and increased excitability of dorsal horn neurons in the neonatal rat suggest that inhibitory processing is less efficient in the immature spinal cord. This is unlikely to be explained by an absence of functional GABAergic inhibition because antagonism of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A receptors augments neuronal firing in vivo from the first days of life. However, it is possible that more subtle deficits in GABAergic signaling exist in the neonate, such as decreased reliability of transmission or greater depression during repetitive stimulation, both of which could influence the relative excitability of the immature spinal cord. To address this issue we examined monosynaptic GABAergic inputs onto superficial dorsal horn neurons using whole cell patch-clamp recordings made in spinal cord slices at a range of postnatal ages (P3, P10, and P21). The amplitudes of evoked inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) were significantly lower and showed greater variability in younger animals, suggesting a lower fidelity of GABAergic signaling at early postnatal ages. Paired-pulse ratios were similar throughout the postnatal period, whereas trains of stimuli (1, 5, 10, and 20 Hz) revealed frequency-dependent short-term depression (STD) of IPSCs at all ages. Although the magnitude of STD did not differ between ages, the recovery from depression was significantly slower at immature GABAergic synapses. These properties may affect the integration of synaptic inputs within developing superficial dorsal horn neurons and thus contribute to their larger receptive fields and enhanced afterdischarge.
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spelling oxford-uuid:fb8a2f24-38db-4456-8c3b-6d35cb7d1a462022-03-27T13:14:34ZDevelopmental changes in the fidelity and short-term plasticity of GABAergic synapses in the neonatal rat dorsal horn.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:fb8a2f24-38db-4456-8c3b-6d35cb7d1a46EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2008Ingram, RFitzgerald, MBaccei, MThe lower thresholds and increased excitability of dorsal horn neurons in the neonatal rat suggest that inhibitory processing is less efficient in the immature spinal cord. This is unlikely to be explained by an absence of functional GABAergic inhibition because antagonism of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) type A receptors augments neuronal firing in vivo from the first days of life. However, it is possible that more subtle deficits in GABAergic signaling exist in the neonate, such as decreased reliability of transmission or greater depression during repetitive stimulation, both of which could influence the relative excitability of the immature spinal cord. To address this issue we examined monosynaptic GABAergic inputs onto superficial dorsal horn neurons using whole cell patch-clamp recordings made in spinal cord slices at a range of postnatal ages (P3, P10, and P21). The amplitudes of evoked inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) were significantly lower and showed greater variability in younger animals, suggesting a lower fidelity of GABAergic signaling at early postnatal ages. Paired-pulse ratios were similar throughout the postnatal period, whereas trains of stimuli (1, 5, 10, and 20 Hz) revealed frequency-dependent short-term depression (STD) of IPSCs at all ages. Although the magnitude of STD did not differ between ages, the recovery from depression was significantly slower at immature GABAergic synapses. These properties may affect the integration of synaptic inputs within developing superficial dorsal horn neurons and thus contribute to their larger receptive fields and enhanced afterdischarge.
spellingShingle Ingram, R
Fitzgerald, M
Baccei, M
Developmental changes in the fidelity and short-term plasticity of GABAergic synapses in the neonatal rat dorsal horn.
title Developmental changes in the fidelity and short-term plasticity of GABAergic synapses in the neonatal rat dorsal horn.
title_full Developmental changes in the fidelity and short-term plasticity of GABAergic synapses in the neonatal rat dorsal horn.
title_fullStr Developmental changes in the fidelity and short-term plasticity of GABAergic synapses in the neonatal rat dorsal horn.
title_full_unstemmed Developmental changes in the fidelity and short-term plasticity of GABAergic synapses in the neonatal rat dorsal horn.
title_short Developmental changes in the fidelity and short-term plasticity of GABAergic synapses in the neonatal rat dorsal horn.
title_sort developmental changes in the fidelity and short term plasticity of gabaergic synapses in the neonatal rat dorsal horn
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AT fitzgeraldm developmentalchangesinthefidelityandshorttermplasticityofgabaergicsynapsesintheneonatalratdorsalhorn
AT bacceim developmentalchangesinthefidelityandshorttermplasticityofgabaergicsynapsesintheneonatalratdorsalhorn