Abstract
Long-term modification of transmission efficacy at synapses is the cellular basis of memory and learning1–4. A special type of synaptic plasticity in the cerebellum was postulated theoretically5,6, and has since been verified4,7–9. Each cerebellar Purkinje cell (PC) receives two distinct excitatory inputs, one from parallel fibres (PFs) and the other from a climbing fibre (CF). When these two types of inputs are conjunctively activated, PF–PC transmission undergoes long-term depression (LTD)4,7–9. Accumulated evidence suggests that LTD plays a role in the motor learning processes of the cerebellum10–12. At the molecular level, LTD appears to be caused by desensitization of receptor molecules in PC dendrites towards the PF neurotransmitter4, presumably L-glutamate (Glu) (ref. 12). Glu receptors are heterogeneous and can be divided into several subtypes13–15. In this study, we compared the potency of several Glu agonists in inducing LTD and found a highly selective dependency of LTD on the quisqualate(QA)-selective subtype of Glu receptors.
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Kano, M., Kato, M. Quisqualate receptors are specifically involved in cerebellar synaptic plasticity. Nature 325, 276–279 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/325276a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/325276a0
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