Impaired synaptic plasticity in the surround of perinatally acquired dysplasia in rat cerebral cortex

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Item Type:	Article
Title:	Impaired synaptic plasticity in the surround of perinatally acquired dysplasia in rat cerebral cortex
Creators Name:	Peters, O., Redecker, C., Hagemann, G., Bruehl, C., Luhmann, H.J. and Witte, O.W.
Abstract:	Freeze-lesion induced neocortical dysplasias in rats mimic numerous aspects of human polymicrogyria and are used as a model for the study of developmental migration disorders. Since memory tests have demonstrated learning deficits in rodents with neocortical malformations, we investigated the expression and properties of long-term potentiation (LTP) in neocortical slices from adult freeze-lesioned and control rats. Field potentials, recorded in layer II/III at a distance of 2-3 mm lateral to perinatally induced microgyri, were strongly enhanced following theta-burst stimulation in layer VI (amplitude: 174 +/- 4%) compared to controls (110 +/- 2%). In contrast, in layer IV of the freeze-lesioned cortex LTP could not reliably be induced. Histochemical analysis, performed to elucidate the cellular basis of the impaired plasticity, revealed diminished amounts of the GABAA-receptor subunit gamma2 in the paramicrogyral zone, likely representing a diminished GABA-ergic filter, which is thought to prevent LTP induced in layer VI under normal conditions. Cytochrome-oxidase staining after electrophysiological examination disclosed that LTP in layer IV of the freeze-lesioned cortex could only be elicited, when stimulation was applied within a preserved barrel cortex. Our study provides evidence that focal cryolesions during cortical development cause an impaired synaptic plasticity that may underlie learning disabilities.
Keywords:	Developmental Migration Disorder, Learning Disabilities, Long-Term Potentiation, Neocortical Malformation, Polymicrogyria, Animals, Rats, Wistar Rats
Source:	Cerebral Cortex
ISSN:	1047-3211
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Volume:	14
Number:	10
Page Range:	1081-1087
Date:	October 2004
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhh067
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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