AI Article Synopsis
- AMPA receptors are crucial for fast neurotransmission in the mammalian central nervous system and impact brain development and function.
- Exposure to loud sounds decreases presynaptic zinc levels, which normally inhibits AMPA currents in specific brain regions, like the dorsal cochlear nucleus and hippocampus.
- The study identifies zinc as an important modulator that adjusts AMPA receptor activity, influencing synaptic plasticity based on experiences.
Article Abstract
The vast amount of fast excitatory neurotransmission in the mammalian central nervous system is mediated by AMPA-subtype glutamate receptors (AMPARs). As a result, AMPAR-mediated synaptic transmission is implicated in nearly all aspects of brain development, function, and plasticity. Despite the central role of AMPARs in neurobiology, the fine-tuning of synaptic AMPA responses by endogenous modulators remains poorly understood. Here we provide evidence that endogenous zinc, released by single presynaptic action potentials, inhibits synaptic AMPA currents in the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) and hippocampus. Exposure to loud sound reduces presynaptic zinc levels in the DCN and abolishes zinc inhibition, implicating zinc in experience-dependent AMPAR synaptic plasticity. Our results establish zinc as an activity-dependent, endogenous modulator of AMPARs that tunes fast excitatory neurotransmission and plasticity in glutamatergic synapses.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4697426 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1512296112 | DOI Listing |
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