2010 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
The elucidation of developmental synaptic elimination mechanisms using in vivo patch-clamp methods and two-photon imaging
| Project/Area Number |
21700428
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
|
| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
|---|
| Research Field |
Neurophysiology and muscle physiology
|
|---|
| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
KAWAMURA Yoshinobu The University of Tokyo, 大学院・医学系研究科, 特任研究員 (30397179)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2009 – 2010
|
| Keywords | 神経科学 / 脳・神経 / 小脳 / プルキンエ細胞 / 登上線維 / 発達 / シナプス / in vivo |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
Development of functional neuronal circuits involves initial formation of supernumerary synaptic connections followed by strengthening of necessary synapses and elimination of redundant ones in early postnatal life. How neuronal activity contributes to this developmental process still remains unknown. We examined activities of Climbing-fiber(CF)-Purkinje cell(PC) synapses in intact cerebellum of developing rat by in vivo whole-cell recordings and two-photon Ca^<2+> imaging. We found that burst spiking (BS) of immature PC required summation of multiple CF inputs. Importantly the CF-EPSP just before the BS onset was selectively strengthened during postnatal development. Since BS elicited Ca^<2+> transients in PCs, the CF-EPSP synchronous to the BS-induced Ca^<2+> rise appeared to be potentiated. Thus, spike timing-dependent mechanisms involving synchronous CF inputs and postsynaptic Ca^<2+> elevation appear to underlie the selection of single CFs and the establishment of mature CF-PC connections in individual PCs.
|
