动作电位时序依赖的突触可塑性(STDP)现象是突触理论的重大革新，但是脊髓背角特异性伤害感受神经元是否具有STDP编码特征尚未见报道。我们前期的工作表明，脊髓背角神经元与初级传入纤维之间的突触存在STDP现象，并可发生LTP和LTD的相互转化，其作用机制及功能还尚不清楚。突触前离子型受体是否对时序依赖的可塑性变化产生影响还鲜为人知。我们应用转基因动物，发现脊髓背角突触前NMDA受体在LTP的诱导和表达机制中具有明确的作用。本课题拟综合运用电生理学、形态学等技术，系统研究脊髓背角神经元突触传递的 STDP 现象，揭示突触前、后动作电位的精确时序关系在脊髓背角突触可塑性的调节作用，从而为阐明初级传入突触传递效率和性质的变化规律奠定基础，为研究脊髓背角内痛觉神经信息的加工与处理开辟新的方向。

One of impressive updating progress of the synaptic research is the spike timing-dependent plasticity(STDP). But few has reported about the encoding feature of the nociceptive specific neurons in the spinal cord dorsal horn, correlated with the STDP. Our previous works showed: the synapse connecting primary nociceptive afferent fiber and the dorsal horn neuron had the feature of STDP. Meanwhile,and LTP and LTD can be transformed into each other,but its mechanism and function is still unclear. Pre-synaptic ionotropic receptors is little known to enhance the impact of spike timing-dependent synaptic potentiation (tLTP).With the pre-synaptic NMDA receptor (preNMDAR) knock out mice, we found that the preNMDARs greatly enhance the LTP in spinal dorsal horn. In this project utilizing a combination of electrophysiological recording and morphological staining, we aim to investigate the STDP in neurons of the spinal dorsal horn. We aim to reveal, in spinal dorsal horn, the function of the pre- and post-synaptic STDP, respectively, on the synaptic plasticity. It helps to uncover the impact of the timing-dependent of the pre- and post-synaptic electrical activities, on the change of the efficiency of synaptic transmission and get new directions for exploring the encoding and the modulation of the nociceptive signals in the spinal dorsal horn.