-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Endocannabinoids are known to mediate retrograde suppression of synaptic transmission, modulate synaptic plasticity, and influence learning and memory. The 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) produced by diacylglycerol lipase α (DGLα) is regarded as the major endocannabinoid that causes retrograde synaptic suppression. To determine how 2-AG signaling influences learning and memory, we subjected DGLα knock-out mice to two learning tasks. We tested the mice using habituation and odor-guided transverse patterning tasks that are known to involve the dentate gyrus and the CA1, respectively, of the hippocampus. We found that DGLα knock-out mice showed significantly faster habituation to an odor and a new environment than wild-type littermates with normal performance in the transverse patterning task. In freely moving animals, long-term potentiation (LTP) induced by theta burst stimulation was significantly larger at perforant path-granule cell synapses in the dentate gyrus of DGLα knock-out mice. Importantly, prior induction of synaptic potentiation at this synapse caused a significant retardation of habituation in DGLα knock-out but not in wild-type littermates. The excitability of granule cells became higher in DGLα knock-out mice after they generated action potentials. Since no differences were found in intrinsic membrane properties and responses to odor stimuli in granule cells, the elevated excitability is considered to result from enhanced activity of an excitatory recurrent network composed of granule cells and mossy cells. These results suggest that retrograde 2-AG signaling negatively regulates habituation by suppressing excitatory recurrent network activity and reducing LTP in the dentate gyrus.
Journal of Neuroscience 02/2013; 33(8):3588-601. · 7.11 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Functional neural circuit formation during postnatal development involves massive elimination of early-formed redundant synapses and strengthening of necessary synaptic connections. In the cerebellum, one-to-one connection from climbing fiber (CF) to Purkinje cell (PC) is established through four distinct phases: (1) strengthening of a single CF among multiple CFs in each PC at P3-P7, (2) translocation of a single strengthened CF to PC dendrites from around P9, and (3) early phase (P7 to around P11) and (4) late phase (around P12 to P17) of elimination of weak CF synapses from PC somata. Mice with PC-selective deletion of P/Q-type voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channel (VDCC) exhibit severe defects in strengthening of single CFs, dendritic translocation of single CFs and CF elimination from P7. In contrast, mice with mutation of a single allele for the GABA synthesizing enzyme GAD67 had a selective impairment of CF elimination from P10. Electrophysiological and Ca(2+) imaging data suggest that GABA(A) receptor-mediated inhibition onto PC somata from putative basket cells influences CF-induced Ca(2+) transients and regulates elimination of redundant CF synapses from PC somata at P10-P16. Thus, regulation of Ca(2+) influx to PCs through VDCC is crucial for the four phases of CF synapse elimination during postnatal development.
The Journal of Physiology 01/2013; · 4.72 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Functional clustering of neurons is frequently observed in the motor cortex. However, it is unknown if, when, and how fine-scale (<100 μm) functional clusters form relative to voluntary forelimb movements. In addition, the implications of clustering remain unclear. To address these issues, we conducted two-photon calcium imaging of mouse layer 2/3 motor cortex during a self-initiated lever-pull task. In the imaging session after 8-9 days of training, head-restrained mice had to pull a lever for ∼600 ms to receive a water drop, and then had to wait for >3 s to pull it again. We found two types of task-related cells in the mice: cells whose peak activities occurred during lever pulls (pull cells) and cells whose peak activities occurred after the end of lever pulls. The activity of pull cells was strongly associated with lever-pull duration. In ∼40% of imaged fields, functional clusterings were temporally detected during the lever pulls. Spatially, there were ∼70-μm-scale clusters that consisted of more than four pull cells in ∼50% of the fields. Ensemble and individual activities of pull cells within the cluster more accurately predicted lever movement trajectories than activities of pull cells outside the cluster. This was likely because clustered pull cells were more often active in the individual trials than pull cells outside the cluster. This higher fidelity of activity was related to higher trial-to-trial correlations of activities of pairs within the cluster. We propose that strong recurrent network clusters may represent the execution of voluntary movements.
Journal of Neuroscience 01/2013; 33(4):1377-1390. · 7.11 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The Purkinje cells in the cerebellum are unique neurons that generate local and global Ca(2+) signals in response to two types of excitatory inputs, parallel fiber and climbing fiber, respectively. The spatiotemporal distribution and interaction of these synaptic inputs produce complex patterns of Ca(2+) dynamics in the Purkinje cell dendrites. The Ca(2+) signals originate from Ca(2+) influx through voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels and Ca(2+) release from intracellular stores that are mediated by the metabotropic glutamate receptor signaling pathway. These Ca(2+) signals are essential for the induction of various forms of synaptic plasticity and for controlling the input-output relationship of Purkinje cells. In this article we review Ca(2+) signaling in Purkinje cell dendrites.
Neural networks: the official journal of the International Neural Network Society 09/2012; · 1.88 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: We developed an organotypic coculture preparation allowing fast and efficient identification of molecules that regulate developmental synapse elimination in the mammalian brain. This coculture consists of a cerebellar slice obtained from rat or mouse at postnatal day 9 (P9) or P10 and a medullary explant containing the inferior olive dissected from rat at embryonic day 15. We verified that climbing fibers (CFs), the axons of inferior olivary neurons, formed functional synapses onto Purkinje cells (PCs) in the cerebellum of cocultures. PCs were initially reinnervated by multiple CFs with similar strengths. Surplus CFs were eliminated subsequently, and the remaining CFs became stronger. These changes are similar to those occurring in developing cerebellum in vivo. Importantly, the changes in CF innervations in cocultures involved the same molecules required for CF synapse elimination in vivo, including NMDA receptor, type 1 metabotropic glutamate receptor and glutamate receptor δ2 (GluRδ2). We demonstrate that gain- and loss-of-function analyses can be efficiently performed by lentiviral-mediated overexpression and RNAi-induced knockdown of GluRδ2. Using this approach, we identified neuroligin-2 as a novel molecule that promotes CF synapse elimination in postsynaptic PCs. Thus, our coculture preparation will greatly facilitate the elucidation of molecular mechanisms of synapse elimination.
Journal of Neuroscience 08/2012; 32(34):11657-70. · 7.11 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) mediates retrograde synaptic suppression. Although the mechanisms of 2-AG production are well characterized, how 2-AG is degraded is less clearly understood. Here we found that expression of the 2-AG hydrolyzing enzyme monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL) was highly heterogeneous in the cerebellum, being rich within parallel fiber (PF) terminals, weak in Bergman glia (BG), and absent in other synaptic terminals. Despite this highly selective MGL expression pattern, 2-AG-mediated retrograde suppression was significantly prolonged at not only PF-Purkinje cell (PC) synapses but also climbing fiber-PC synapses in granule cell-specific MGL knockout (MGL-KO) mice whose cerebellar MGL expression was confined to the BG. Virus-mediated expression of MGL into the BG of global MGL-KO mice significantly shortened 2-AG-mediated retrograde suppression at PF-PC synapses. Furthermore, contribution of MGL to termination of 2-AG signaling depended on the distance from MGL-rich PFs to inhibitory synaptic terminals. Thus, 2-AG is degraded in a synapse-type independent manner by MGL present in PFs and the BG. The results of the present study strongly suggest that MGL regulates 2-AG signaling rather broadly within a certain range of neural tissue, although MGL expression is heterogeneous and limited to a subset of nerve terminals and astrocytes.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 07/2012; 109(30):12195-200. · 9.68 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Functional neural circuit formation during development involves massive elimination of redundant synapses. In the cerebellum, one-to-one connection from excitatory climbing fiber (CF) to Purkinje cell (PC) is established by elimination of early-formed surplus CFs. This process depends on glutamatergic excitatory inputs, but contribution of GABAergic transmission remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate impaired CF synapse elimination in mouse models with diminished GABAergic transmission by mutation of a single allele for the GABA synthesizing enzyme GAD67, by conditional deletion of GAD67 from PCs and GABAergic interneurons or by pharmacological inhibition of cerebellar GAD activity. The impaired CF synapse elimination was rescued by enhancing GABA(A) receptor sensitivity in the cerebellum by locally applied diazepam. Our electrophysiological and Ca2+ imaging data suggest that GABA(A) receptor-mediated inhibition onto the PC soma from molecular layer interneurons influences CF-induced Ca2+ transients in the soma and regulates CF synapse elimination from postnatal day 10 (P10) to around P16.
Neuron 04/2012; 74(2):384-96. · 14.74 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The β isoforms of phospholipase C (PLCβs) are thought to mediate signals from metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 1 (mGluR1)
that is crucial for the modulation of synaptic transmission and plasticity. Among four PLCβ isoforms, PLCβ4 is one of the
two major isoforms expressed in cerebellar Purkinje cells. The authors have studied the roles of PLCβ4 by analyzing PLCβ4
knock-out mice, which are viable, but exhibit locomotor ataxia. Their cerebellar histology, parallel fiber synapse formation,
and basic electrophysiology appear normal. However, developmental elimination of multiple climbing fiber innervation is clearly
impaired in the rostral portion of the cerebellar vermis, where PLCβ4 mRNA is predominantly expressed in the wild-type mice.
In the adult, long-term depression is deficient at parallel fiber to Purkinje cell synapses in the rostral cerebellum of the
PLCβ4 knockout mice. The impairment of climbing fiber synapse elimination and the loss of long-term depression are similar
to those seen in mice defective in mGluR1, Gαq, or protein kinase C. Thus, the authors’ results strongly suggest that PLCβ4
is part of a signaling pathway, including the mGluR1, Gαq and protein kinase C, which is crucial for both climbing fiber synapse
elimination in the developing cerebellum and long-term depression induction in the mature cerebellum.
Molecular Neurobiology 04/2012; 23(1):69-82. · 5.74 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: In the adult cerebellum, each Purkinje cell (PC) is innervated by a single climbing fiber (CF) in proximal dendrites and 10(5)-10(6) parallel fibers (PFs) in distal dendrites. This organized wiring is established postnatally through heterosynaptic competition between PFs and CFs and homosynaptic competition among multiple CFs. Using PC-specific Cav2.1 knock-out mice (PC-Cav2.1 KO mice), we have demonstrated recently that postsynaptic Cav2.1 plays a key role in the homosynaptic competition by promoting functional strengthening and dendritic translocation of single "winner" CFs. Here, we report that Cav2.1 in PCs, but not in granule cells, is also essential for the heterosynaptic competition. In PC-Cav2.1 KO mice, the extent of CF territory was limited to the soma and basal dendrites, whereas PF territory was expanded reciprocally. Consequently, the proximal somatodendritic domain of PCs displayed hyperspiny transformation and fell into chaotic innervation by multiple CFs and numerous PFs. PC-Cav2.1 KO mice also displayed patterned degeneration of PCs, which occurred preferentially in aldolase C/zebrin II-negative cerebellar compartments. Furthermore, the mutually complementary expression of phospholipase Cβ3 (PLCβ3) and PLCβ4 was altered such that their normally sharp boundary was blurred in the PCs of PC-Cav2.1 KO mice. This blurring was caused by an impaired posttranscriptional downregulation of PLCβ3 in PLCβ4-dominant PCs during the early postnatal period. A similar alteration was noted in the banded expression of the glutamate transporter EAAT4 in PC-Cav2.1 KO mice. Therefore, Cav2.1 in PCs is essential for competitive synaptic wiring, cell survival, and the establishment of precise boundaries and reciprocity of biochemical compartments in PCs.
Journal of Neuroscience 01/2012; 32(4):1311-28. · 7.11 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Synaptic inputs on dendrites are nonlinearly converted to action potential outputs, yet the spatiotemporal patterns of dendritic activation remain to be elucidated at single-synapse resolution. In rodents, we optically imaged synaptic activities from hundreds of dendritic spines in hippocampal and neocortical pyramidal neurons ex vivo and in vivo. Adjacent spines were frequently synchronized in spontaneously active networks, thereby forming dendritic foci that received locally convergent inputs from presynaptic cell assemblies. This precise subcellular geometry manifested itself during N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-dependent circuit remodeling. Thus, clustered synaptic plasticity is innately programmed to compartmentalize correlated inputs along dendrites and may reify nonlinear synaptic integration.
Science 01/2012; 335(6066):353-6. · 31.20 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) of newborn rodents are innervated by multiple climbing fibers (CFs). During the first postnatal week, single CFs are strengthened relative to other CFs on the somata of individual PCs. Then, the strengthened CFs undergo translocation to PC dendrites after P9. Elimination of the weaker CFs occurs in two distinct steps, namely the early phase from P7 to around P12 and the late phase from about P12 to around P17. Our previous study demonstrates that CF synapse elimination is severely impaired in null mutant mice lacking Ca(v)2.1, a pore-forming component of P/Q-type voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channel (VDCC). To examine the contribution of postsynaptic P/Q-type VDCC to postnatal rearrangement of CFs, we generated mice with PC-selective deletion of Ca(v)2.1 (PC-Ca(v)2.1 KO). We made whole-cell recordings from PCs in cerebellar slices and examined CF-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents. We found that PC-Ca(v)2.1 KO PCs had severe defects in selective strengthening of single CFs during the first postnatal week and subsequent CF synapse elimination from P7. Moreover, our morphological analysis revealed that multiple CFs abnormally underwent translocation to PC dendrites in PC-Ca(v)2.1 KO mice. These results indicate that Ca(2+) influx through P/Q-type VDCC into PCs is crucial for selective strengthening of single CFs, early phase elimination and selective translocation of single strengthened CFs to PC dendrites.
The Cerebellum 12/2011; 11(2):449-50. · 3.21 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: In early postnatal development, perisomatic innervation of cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) switches from glutamatergic climbing fibers (CFs) to GABAergic basket cell fibers (BFs). Here we examined the switching process in C57BL/6 mice. At postnatal day 7 (P7), most perisomatic synapses were formed by CFs on to somatic spines. The density of CF-spine synapses peaked at P9, when pericellular nest around PCs by CFs was most developed, and CF-spine synapses constituted 88% of the total perisomatic synapses. Thereafter, CF-spine synapses dropped to 63% at P12, 6% at P15, and <1% at P20, whereas BF synapses increased reciprocally. During the switching period, a substantial number of BF synapses existed as BF-spine synapses (37% of the total perisomatic synapses at P15), and free spines surrounded by BFs or Bergmann glia also emerged. By P20, BF-spine synapses and free spines virtually disappeared, and BF-soma synapses became predominant (88%), thus attaining the adult pattern of perisomatic innervation. Parallel with the presynaptic switching, postsynaptic receptor phenotype also switched from glutamatergic to GABAergic. In the active switching period, particularly at P12, fragmental clusters of AMPA-type glutamate receptor were juxtaposed with those of GABA(A) receptor. When examined with serial ultrathin sections, immunogold labeling for glutamate and GABA(A) receptors was often clustered beneath single BF terminals. These results suggest that a considerable fraction of somatic spines is succeeded from CFs to BFs and Bergmann glia in the early postnatal period, and that the switching of postsynaptic receptor phenotypes mainly proceeds under the coverage of BF terminals.
Journal of Neuroscience 11/2011; 31(47):16916-27. · 7.11 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Innervation of Purkinje cells (PCs) by multiple climbing fibers (CFs) is refined into mono-innervation during the first three postnatal weeks of rodents' lives. In this review article, we will integrate the current knowledge on developmental process and mechanisms of CF synapse elimination. In the 'creeper' stage of CF innervation (postnatal day 0 (P0)∼), CFs creep among PC somata to form transient synapses on immature dendrites. In the 'pericellular nest' stage (P5∼), CFs densely surround and innervate PC somata. CF innervation is then displaced to the apical portion of PC somata in the 'capuchon' stage (P9∼), and translocate to dendrites in the 'dendritic' (P12∼) stage. Along with the developmental changes in CF wiring, functional and morphological distinctions become larger among CF inputs. PCs are initially innervated by more than five CFs with similar strengths (∼P3). During P3-7 only a single CF is selectively strengthened (functional differentiation), and it undergoes dendritic translocation from P9 on (dendritic translocation). Following the functional differentiation, perisomatic CF synapses are eliminated nonselectively; this proceeds in two distinct phases. The early phase (P7-11) is conducted independently of parallel fiber (PF)-PC synapse formation, while the late phase (P12-17) critically depends on it. The P/Q-type voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channel in PCs triggers selective strengthening of single CF inputs, promotes dendritic translocation of the strengthened CFs, and drives the early phase of CF synapse elimination. In contrast, the late phase is mediated by the mGluR1-Gαq-PLCβ4-PKCγ signaling cascade in PCs driven at PF-PC synapses, whose structural connectivity is stabilized and maintained by the GluRδ2-Cbln1-neurexin system.
European Journal of Neuroscience 11/2011; 34(10):1697-710. · 3.63 Impact Factor
-
Seikagaku. The Journal of Japanese Biochemical Society 08/2011; 83(8):704-14. · 0.04 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Neural circuits are initially redundant but rearranged through activity-dependent synapse elimination during postnatal development. This process is crucial for shaping mature neural circuits and for proper brain function. At birth, Purkinje cells (PCs) in the cerebellum are innervated by multiple climbing fibers (CFs) with similar synaptic strengths. During postnatal development, a single CF is selectively strengthened in each PC through synaptic competition, the strengthened single CF undergoes translocation to a PC dendrite, and massive elimination of redundant CF synapses follows. To investigate the cellular mechanisms of this activity-dependent synaptic refinement, we generated mice with PC-selective deletion of the Ca(v)2.1 P/Q-type Ca(2+) channel, the major voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channel in PCs. In the PC-selective Ca(v)2.1 knockout mice, Ca(2+) transients induced by spontaneous CF inputs are markedly reduced in PCs in vivo. Not a single but multiple CFs were equally strengthened in each PC from postnatal day 5 (P5) to P8, multiple CFs underwent translocation to PC dendrites, and subsequent synapse elimination until around P12 was severely impaired. Thus, P/Q-type Ca(2+) channels in postsynaptic PCs mediate synaptic competition among multiple CFs and trigger synapse elimination in developing cerebellum.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 06/2011; 108(24):9987-92. · 9.68 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Marijuana smoking elicits various psychoactive effects through type 1 cannabinoid receptors (CB(1)Rs) in the brain. CB(1)R is a seven-transmembrane domain. G(i/o)-protein coupled receptors, and is expressed throughout the central nervous system including the hippocampus, cerebellum, striatum and cerebral cortex. Endogenous ligands for CB(1)R (endocannabinoids) are lipid in nature, and anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) are considered to be the two major endocannabinoids. Endocannabinoids are known to function as retrograde messengers at synapses. Endocannabinoids are released from postsynaptic neurons in activity-dependent manners, and retrogradely activate presynaptic CB(1)Rs, resulting in short-term or long-term suppression of synaptic transmission. Endocannabinoid-mediated retrograde signaling is observed at various brain regions and considered as a general mechanism of synaptic modulation in the brain. Endocannabinoid release is triggered by postsynaptic Ca2+ elevation or activation of G(q/11)-protein coupled receptors. Recent studies have demonstrated that 2-AG mediates retrograde signaling at synapses in the brain. Endocannabinoid-mediated retrograde signaling is involved in long-term synaptic plasticity in several brain regions. At behavioral level, endocannabinoid signaling is known to be involved in hippocampus-, amygdala- and cerebellum-dependent learning and memory.
Nihon shinkei seishin yakurigaku zasshi = Japanese journal of psychopharmacology 06/2011; 31(3):105-9.
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) is the endocannabinoid that mediates retrograde suppression of neurotransmission in the brain. In the present study, we investigated the 2-AG signaling system at mossy cell (MC)-granule cell (GC) synapses in the mouse dentate gyrus, an excitatory recurrent circuit where endocannabinoids are thought to suppress epileptogenesis. First, we showed by electrophysiology that 2-AG produced by diacylglycerol lipase α (DGLα) mediated both depolarization-induced suppression of excitation and its enhancement by group I metabotropic glutamate receptor activation at MC-GC synapses, as they were abolished in DGLα-knock-out mice. Immunohistochemistry revealed that DGLα was enriched in the neck portion of GC spines forming synapses with MC terminals, whereas cannabinoid CB(1) receptors accumulated in the terminal portion of MC axons. On the other hand, the major 2-AG-degrading enzyme, monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL), was absent at MC-GC synapses but was expressed in astrocytes and some inhibitory terminals. Serial electron microscopy clarified that a given GC spine was innervated by a single MC terminal and also contacted nonsynaptically by other MC terminals making synapses with other GC spines in the neighborhood. MGL-expressing elements, however, poorly covered GC spines, amounting to 17% of the total surface of GC spines by astrocytes and 4% by inhibitory terminals. Our findings provide a basis for 2-AG-mediated retrograde suppression of MC-GC synaptic transmission and also suggest that 2-AG released from activated GC spines is readily accessible to nearby MC-GC synapses by escaping from enzymatic degradation. This molecular-anatomical configuration will contribute to adjust network activity in the dentate gyrus after enhanced excitation.
Journal of Neuroscience 05/2011; 31(21):7700-14. · 7.11 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Two-photon (2P) uncaging of caged neurotransmitters can efficiently stimulate individual synapses and is widely used to characterize synaptic functions in brain slice preparations. Here we extended 2P uncaging to neocortical pyramidal neurons in adult mice in vivo where caged glutamate was applied from the pial surface. To validate the methodology, we applied a small fluorescent probe using the same method, and confirmed that its concentrations were approximately homogenous up to 200 μm below the cortical surface, and that the extracellular space of the neocortex was as large as 22%. In fact, in vivo whole-cell recording revealed that 2P glutamate uncaging could elicit transient currents (2pEPSCs) very similar to excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs). A spatial resolution of glutamate uncaging was 0.6-0.8 μm up to the depth of 200 μm, and in vivo 2P uncaging was able to stimulate single identified spines. Automated three-dimensional (3-D) mapping of such 2pEPSCs which covered the surfaces of dendritic branches revealed that functional AMPA receptor expression was stable and proportional to spine volume.Moreover, in vivo 2P Ca2+ imaging and uncaging suggested that the amplitudes of glutamate-induced Ca2+ transients were inversely proportional to spine volume. Thus, the key structure-function relationships hold in dendritic spines in adult neocortex in vivo, as in young hippocampal slice preparations. In vivo 2P uncaging will be a powerful tool to investigate properties of synapses in the neocortex.
The Journal of Physiology 05/2011; 589(Pt 10):2447-57. · 4.72 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Since the first reports of endocannabinoid-mediated retrograde signaling in 2001, great advances have been made toward understanding the molecular basis and functions of the endocannabinoid system. Electrophysiological studies have revealed that the endocannabinoid system is functional at various types of synapses throughout the brain. Basic mechanisms have been clarified as to how endocannabinoids are produced and released from postsynaptic neurons and regulate neurotransmitter release through activating presynaptic cannabinoid CB(1) receptors, although there remain unsolved questions and some discrepancies. In addition to this major function, recent studies suggest diverse functions of endocannabinoids, including control of other endocannabinoid-independent forms of synaptic plasticity, regulation of neuronal excitability, stimulation of glia-neuron interaction, and induction of CB(1)R-independent plasticity. Using recently developed pharmacological and genetic tools, behavioral studies have elucidated the roles of the endocannabinoid system in various aspects of neural functions. In this review, we make a brief overview of molecular mechanisms underlying the endocannabinoid-mediated synaptic modulation and also summarize recent findings, which shed new light on a diversity of functional roles of endocannabinoids.
The Neuroscientist 04/2011; 18(2):119-32. · 4.57 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Mutations of the myosin Va gene cause the neurological diseases Griscelli syndrome type 1 and Elejalde syndrome in humans and dilute phenotypes in rodents. To understand the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the neurological disorders in myosin Va diseases, we conducted an integrated analysis at the molecular, cellular, electrophysiological, and behavioral levels using the dilute-neurological (d-n) mouse mutant. These mice manifest an ataxic gait and clonic seizures during postnatal development, but the neurological disorders are ameliorated in adulthood. We found that smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) rarely extended into the dendritic spines of Purkinje cells (PCs) of young d-n mice, and there were few, if any, IP(3) receptors. Moreover, long-term depression (LTD) at parallel fiber-PC synapses was abolished, consistent with our previous observations in juvenile lethal dilute mutants. Young d-n mice exhibited severe impairment of cerebellum-dependent motor learning. In contrast, adult d-n mice showed restoration of motor learning and LTD, and these neurological changes were associated with accumulation of SER and IP(3) receptors in some PC spines and the expression of myosin Va proteins in the PCs. RNA interference-mediated repression of myosin Va caused a reduction in the number of IP(3) receptor-positive spines in cultured PCs. These findings indicate that myosin Va function is critical for subsequent processes in localization of SER and IP(3) receptors in PC spines, LTD, and motor learning. Interestingly, d-n mice had defects of motor coordination from young to adult ages, suggesting that the role of myosin Va in PC spines is not sufficient for motor coordination.
Journal of Neuroscience 04/2011; 31(16):6067-78. · 7.11 Impact Factor
