Metabotropic glutamate receptors and neural plasticity

描述（由申请人提供）：最近，在弱电鱼中发现了一种新的长期感觉运动适应形式，称为长期频率升高（LTFE）（Oestreich & Zakon，2002）。这种感觉运动适应的部位是起搏核（pacemaker nucleus，PMn），这是负责控制电器官放电（electric organ discharge，EOD）频率的前运动网络。PMn放电频率的变化是由不同的传入神经元兴奋性输入的激活引起的。虽然它已被确定，离子型谷氨酸受体介导的变化，在PMN的放电频率，代谢型谷氨酸受体（mGluRs）的作用仍然是未知的。我们提出了几项研究，以探索mGluRs在PMN中的作用，以及它们是否有助于LTFE的产生：（1）使用免疫细胞学技术来绘制不同mGluR在PMN中的分布，（2）在PMN切片制备中使用各种mGluR激动剂和拮抗剂来确定哪些mGluR在体外促成LTFE，和（3）使用体内药理学和记录来检查哪种mGluR促成完整动物中的LTFE。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Recently, a novel form of long-term sensorimotor adaptation, termed long term frequency elevation (LTFE) has been identified in the weakly electric fish (Oestreich & Zakon, 2002). The site of this sensorimotor adaptation is the pacemaker nucleus (PMn), the premotor network responsible for controlling the electric organ discharge (EOD) frequency. Shifts in the PMn firing frequency arise from the activation of different afferent glutamatergic inputs. While it has been well established that ionotropic glutamate receptors mediate shifts in PMn firing frequency, the role of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) remains unexplored. We propose several studies in order to explore the role of mGluRs in the PMn and whether they contribute to the generation of LTFE: (1) use immunocytological techniques to map the distribution of different mGluRs in the PMn, (2) use various mGluR agonists and antagonists in the PMn slice preparation to determine which mGluRs contribute to LTFE in vitro, and (3) use in vivo pharmacology and recordings to examine which mGluRs contribute to LTFE in the intact animal.