Effects of GABA on the induction of LTP in developing rat visual cortical slices / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in developing rat visual cortical slices. Methods Field potentials recorded from layer Ⅱ/Ⅲ induced by layer Ⅳ stimulation in rat visual cortical slices were examined. LTP was induced by tetanus in the slices on the postnatal 2, 3 and 5-week rats. The LTP incidences and the effects of GABA on them in different developmental stages were compared. Results LTP incidence at postnatal week 5 was significantly lower than that in other two groups. GABA A receptor antagonist picrotoxin could reverse this tendency, but had no effects on the LTP induction at the early postnatal age. Conclusion In visual cortex, GABA has inhibitory effects on the LTP induction only after the end of critical period and has no any facilitatory effects on the LTP induction before the developmental critical period.