Cholinergic agonist carbachol enables associative long-term potentiation in piriform cortex slices

J Neurophysiol. 1998 Nov;80(5):2467-74. doi: 10.1152/jn.1998.80.5.2467.

Abstract

Pyramidal cells in piriform (olfactory) cortex receive afferent input from the olfactory bulb as well as intrinsic association input from piriform cortex and other cortical areas. These two functionally distinct inputs terminate on adjacent apical dendritic segments of the pyramidal cells located in layer Ia and layer Ib of piriform cortex. Studies with bath-applied cholinergic agonists have shown suppression of the fast component of the inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) evoked by stimulation of the association fibers. It was previously demonstrated that an associative form of LTP can be induced by coactivation of the two fiber systems after blockade of the fast, gamma-aminobutyric acid-A-mediated IPSP. In this report, we demonstrate that an associative form of long-term potentiation can be induced by coactivation of afferent and intrinsic fibers in the presence of the cholinergic agonist carbachol.

MeSH terms

  • Afferent Pathways / drug effects
  • Afferent Pathways / physiology
  • Animals
  • Carbachol / pharmacology*
  • Cholinergic Agonists / pharmacology*
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Electric Stimulation
  • Evoked Potentials / drug effects
  • Evoked Potentials / physiology
  • Female
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Long-Term Potentiation / drug effects*
  • Long-Term Potentiation / physiology
  • Nerve Fibers / drug effects
  • Nerve Fibers / physiology
  • Neural Inhibition / drug effects
  • Neural Inhibition / physiology
  • Olfactory Pathways / drug effects*
  • Olfactory Pathways / physiology
  • Olfactory Pathways / ultrastructure
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Substances

  • Cholinergic Agonists
  • Carbachol