Symmetric spike timing-dependent plasticity at CA3-CA3 synapses optimizes storage and recall in autoassociative networks.

CA3-CA3 recurrent excitatory synapses are thought to play a key role in memory storage and pattern completion. Whether the plasticity properties of these synapses are consistent with their proposed network functions remains unclear. Here, we examine the properties of spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) at CA3-CA3 synapses. Low-frequency pairing of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) and action potentials (APs) induces long-term potentiation (LTP), independent of temporal order. The STDP curve is symmetric and broad (half-width ∼150 ms). Consistent with these STDP induction properties, AP-EPSP sequences lead to supralinear summation of spine [Ca(2+)] transients. Furthermore, afterdepolarizations (ADPs) following APs efficiently propagate into dendrites of CA3 pyramidal neurons, and EPSPs summate with dendritic ADPs. In autoassociative network models, storage and recall are more robust with symmetric than with asymmetric STDP rules. Thus, a specialized STDP induction rule allows reliable storage and recall of information in the hippocampal CA3 network.

P2Y Receptors in Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity: Therapeutic Potential in Cognitive Dysfunction.

ATP released from neurons and astrocytes during neuronal activity or under pathophysiological circumstances is able to influence information flow in neuronal circuits by activation of ionotropic P2X and metabotropic P2Y receptors and subsequent modulation of cellular excitability, synaptic strength, and plasticity. In the present paper we review cellular and network effects of P2Y receptors in the brain. We show that P2Y receptors inhibit the release of neurotransmitters, modulate voltage- and ligand-gated ion channels, and differentially influence the induction of synaptic plasticity in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum. The findings discussed here may explain how P2Y1 receptor activation during brain injury, hypoxia, inflammation, schizophrenia, or Alzheimer's disease leads to an impairment of cognitive processes. Hence, it is suggested that the blockade of P2Y1 receptors may have therapeutic potential against cognitive disturbances in these states.

Stimfit: quantifying electrophysiological data with Python.

Intracellular electrophysiological recordings provide crucial insights into elementary neuronal signals such as action potentials and synaptic currents. Analyzing and interpreting these signals is essential for a quantitative understanding of neuronal information processing, and requires both fast data visualization and ready access to complex analysis routines. To achieve this goal, we have developed Stimfit, a free software package for cellular neurophysiology with a Python scripting interface and a built-in Python shell. The program supports most standard file formats for cellular neurophysiology and other biomedical signals through the Biosig library. To quantify and interpret the activity of single neurons and communication between neurons, the program includes algorithms to characterize the kinetics of presynaptic action potentials and postsynaptic currents, estimate latencies between pre- and postsynaptic events, and detect spontaneously occurring events. We validate and benchmark these algorithms, give estimation errors, and provide sample use cases, showing that Stimfit represents an efficient, accessible and extensible way to accurately analyze and interpret neuronal signals.

Active dendrites support efficient initiation of dendritic spikes in hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons.

CA3 pyramidal neurons are important for memory formation and pattern completion in the hippocampal network. It is generally thought that proximal synapses from the mossy fibers activate these neurons most efficiently, whereas distal inputs from the perforant path have a weaker modulatory influence. We used confocally targeted patch-clamp recording from dendrites and axons to map the activation of rat CA3 pyramidal neurons at the subcellular level. Our results reveal two distinct dendritic domains. In the proximal domain, action potentials initiated in the axon backpropagate actively with large amplitude and fast time course. In the distal domain, Na(+) channel-mediated dendritic spikes are efficiently initiated by waveforms mimicking synaptic events. CA3 pyramidal neuron dendrites showed a high Na(+)-to-K(+) conductance density ratio, providing ideal conditions for active backpropagation and dendritic spike initiation. Dendritic spikes may enhance the computational power of CA3 pyramidal neurons in the hippocampal network.

P2Y1 receptors inhibit long-term depression in the prefrontal cortex.

Long-term depression (LTD) is a form of synaptic plasticity that may contribute to information storage in the central nervous system. Here we report that LTD can be elicited in layer 5 pyramidal neurons of the rat prefrontal cortex by pairing low frequency stimulation with a modest postsynaptic depolarization. The induction of LTD required the activation of both metabotropic glutamate receptors of the mGlu1 subtype and voltage-sensitive Ca(2+) channels (VSCCs) of the T/R, P/Q and N types, leading to the stimulation of intracellular inositol trisphosphate (IP3) receptors by IP3 and Ca(2+). The subsequent release of Ca(2+) from intracellular stores activated the protein phosphatase cascade involving calcineurin and protein phosphatase 1. The activation of purinergic P2Y(1) receptors blocked LTD. This effect was prevented by P2Y(1) receptor antagonists and was absent in mice lacking P2Y(1) but not P2Y(2) receptors. We also found that activation of P2Y(1) receptors inhibits Ca(2+) transients via VSCCs in the apical dendrites and spines of pyramidal neurons. In addition, we show that the release of ATP under hypoxia is able to inhibit LTD by acting on postsynaptic P2Y(1) receptors. In conclusion, these data suggest that the reduction of Ca(2+) influx via VSCCs caused by the activation of P2Y(1) receptors by ATP is the possible mechanism for the inhibition of LTD in prefrontal cortex.

Modulation of NMDA receptor current in layer V pyramidal neurons of the rat prefrontal cortex by P2Y receptor activation.

Current responses to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) in layer V pyramidal neurons of the rat prefrontal cortex were potentiated by the P2 receptor agonists adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) and uridine 5'-triphosphate (UTP). The failure of these nucleotides to induce inward current on fast local superfusion suggested the activation of P2Y rather than P2X receptors. The potentiation by ATP persisted in a Ca(2+)-free superfusion medium but was abolished by 1,2-bis(2-amino-5-fluorophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid tetrakis(acetoxymethyl) ester, cyclopiazonic acid, 7-nitroindazole, fluoroacetic acid, bafilomycin, and tetanus toxin, indicating that an astrocytic signaling molecule may participate. Because the metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) agonists (1S,3R)-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (ACPD) (group I/II) and (RS)-3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (group I) both imitated the effect of ATP and the group I mGluR antagonist 1-aminoindan-1,5-dicarboxylic acid or a combination of selective mGluR(1) (7-(hydroxyimino)-cyclopropa[b]chromen-1a-carboxylate) and mGluR(5) (2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)pyridine) antagonists abolished the facilitation by ATP, it was concluded that the signaling molecule may be glutamate. Pharmacological tools known to interfere with the transduction cascade of type I mGluRs (guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiodiphosphate), U-73122, xestospongin C, 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid, calmodulin kinase II [CAMKII] inhibitor peptide) depressed the actions of both ATP and ACPD. Characterization of the P2Y receptor by agonists (ATP and UTP), antagonists (suramin and pyridoxal-phosphate-6-azophenyl-2',4'-disulfonic acid), and knockout mice (P2Y(2)(-/-)) suggested that the nucleotides act at the P2Y(4) subtype. In conclusion, we propose that exogenous and probably also endogenous ATP release vesicular glutamate from astrocytes by P2Y(4) receptor activation. This glutamate then stimulates type I mGluRs of layer V pyramidal neurons and via the G(q)/phospholipase C/inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate/Ca(2+)/CAMKII transduction pathway facilitates NMDA receptor currents.

Esclerosis de várices esofágicas: etanolamina o polidocanol? (comentario) / Esophageal varices sclerosis: ethanolamine or polidocanol? (comment)

En este estudio prospectivo randomizado se ha comparado la eficacia de dos agentes esclerosantes utilizados en la práctica clínica, el Oleato en la erradicación de las Várices Esofágicas (EV). Se incluyeron 50 pacientes consecutivos con diagnóstico de Cirrosis, 22 en el grupo de Et. y 28 en el grupo de PI. Los datos clínicos fueron comparables para los dos grupos. Se consideró la erradicación de las Várices Esofágicas en un 81% (l8% (l8/22) en el grupo con Etanolamina y en un 64,1% (l8/28) en el grupo tratado con Polidocanol (p = NS). Hubo una diferencia significativa en el porcentaje de resangramiento (4 episodios en 3 pacientes en el grupo de Et. y 18 episodios en 13 pacientes en el grupo de PI, p < 0,05). No se observó una diferncia notable en el número de otras complicaciones o mortalidad. Los autores concluyen que ambos esclerosantes son de utilidad en la erradicación de las Várices Esofágicas, pero la Etanolamina demostró ser superior al Polidocanol en la prevención del resangramiento durante el tratamiento escleroterápico

Escleroterapia endoscópica de las várices esofágicas con alcohol al 80: experiencia en 46 casos / Endoscopic sclerotherapy of esophageal varices with 80

Presentamos los resultados obtenidos en la escleroterapia endoscópica con alcohol al 80% en cincuenta y cinco pacientes con o sin sangramiento en le momento del estudio endoscópico. Obtuvimos un control de la hemorragia en le 83,64% con una recurrencia del sangramiento durante los primeros 15 días del 16,36% e igual tasa de mortalidad en el mismo período de tiempo. En los cuarenta y seis pacientes que concluyeron la escleroterapia, la disminución del tamaño de las várices fue del 89.79% y la erradicación se obtuvo solamente en el 6.11%. Como complicaciones importantes tuvimos: las úlceras esofágicas en el 100% de los casos y la cicatrización espontánea de las mismas en el período de 3 semanas. El dolor retroesternal con una frecuencia del 45.65%, es de corta duración, apareciendo en el momento que inyectamos el esclerosante. Las estenosis esofágicas en un 5,45, se resolvieron con dilataciones. Concluímos diciendo que el alcohol al 80% es una substancia esclerosante efectiva y segura en el control del sangramiento agudo de las várices esofágicas y para prevenir su recurrencia inmediata, con la desventaja de tener un mayor número de complicaciones locales que otras sustancias esclerosantes