Science, Vol.275, No.5302, 969-973, 1997
Involvement of Presynaptic and Postsynaptic Mechanisms in Posttetanic Potentiation at Aplysia Synapses
Posttetanic potentiation (PTP) is a common form of short-term synaptic plasticity that is generally thought to be entirely presynaptic. Consistent with that idea, PTP of evoked excitatory postsynaptic potentials at Aplysia sensory/motor neuron synapses in cell culture was reduced by presynaptic injection of a slow calcium chelator and was accompanied by an increase in the frequency but not the amplitude of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic potentials. However, PTP was also reduced by postsynaptic injection of a rapid calcium chelator or postsynaptic hyperpolarization. Thus, PTP at these synapses is likely to involve a postsynaptic induction mechanism in addition to the known presynaptic mechanisms.
Keywords:POST-TETANIC POTENTIATION;TERM SYNAPTIC PLASTICITY;SPONTANEOUS TRANSMITTER RELEASE;DISSOCIATED CELL-CULTURE;MOTOR NEURON SYNAPSES;SENSORIMOTOR SYNAPSES;SENSORY NEURONS;NERVE-TERMINALS;NITRIC-OXIDE;CALCIUM