Synaptic calcium transients in single spines indicate that NMDA receptors are not saturated

Zachary F. Mainen, Roberto Malinow and Karel Svoboda ()
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Zachary F. Mainen: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Roberto Malinow: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Karel Svoboda: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Nature, 1999, vol. 399, issue 6732, 151-155

Abstract: Abstract At excitatory synapses in the central nervous system, the number of glutamate molecules released from a vesicle is much larger than the number of postsynaptic receptors. But does release of a single vesicle normally saturate these receptors? Answering this question is critical to understanding how the amplitude and variability of synaptic transmission are set and regulated. Here we describe the use of two-photon microscopy1 to image transient increases in Ca2+ concentration mediated by NMDA (N -methyl-D-aspartate) receptors in single dendritic spines of CA1 pyramidal neurons in hippocampal slices. To test for NMDA-receptor saturation, we compared responses to stimulation with single and double pulses. We find that a single release event does not saturate spine NMDA receptors; a second release occurring 10 ms later produces ∼80% more NMDA-receptor activation. The amplitude of spine NMDA-receptor-mediated [Ca2+] transients (and the synaptic plasticity which depends on this) may thus be sensitive to the number of quanta released by a burst of action potentials and to changes in the concentration profile of glutamate in the synaptic cleft.

Date: 1999
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DOI: 10.1038/20187

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