N-methyl-D-aspartate-dependent long-term potentiation of excitatory transmission in trigeminal subnucleus oralis

This study for the first time demonstrates early developmental changes of passive/active membrane properties, and long-term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory synaptic transmission at spinal trigeminal subnucleus caudalis (Vc)-to-oralis (Vo) synapses. During postnatal development, the probability of Vo neurons with monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) upon Vc stimulation significantly increased, whereas the input resistances of Vo neurons and the latencies of monosynaptic EPSCs significantly decreased. Application of a 'pairing' protocol that comprises 2 Hz-conditioning stimulation of Vc with postsynaptic depolarization of Vo neuron to + 30mV generated LTP of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid receptor-mediated monosynaptic EPSC amplitude in more than 70% of Vo neurons. The induction of LTP required the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, but its magnitudes had correlation neither with postnatal ages nor with baseline EPSC amplitudes.