Subicular lesions cause dendritic atrophy in CA1 and CA3 pyramidal neurons of the rat hippocampus

The subiculum is a major source of output projections from hippocampus to cortical and subcortical regions. Our previous studies have demonstrated the selective loss of CA1 pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus, and operant and spatial learning impairment in subicular lesioned rats [Govindaiah et al. (1997) Brain Res. 745, 121-126; Laxmi et al. (1999) Brain Res. 816, 245-148]. In the present study, the effect of ibotenate lesions of the subiculum on the dendritic morphology of CA1 and CA3 pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus was investigated in 30-day-old male Wistar rats. The ventral subiculum was lesioned bilaterally with multiple injections of ibotenic acid, stereotaxically. The dendritic branching points and intersections were studied in apical and basal dendrites up to 320 and 160 microm, respectively, in Golgi-impregnated CA1 and CA3 pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus. The results revealed a significant (P<0.001) decrease in the number of dendritic branching points, intersections and total number of dendrites in both apical and basal dendrites of CA1, as well as CA3 pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus. It is surprising that the subicular lesions caused dendritic atrophy of CA3 neurons without affecting the cell density.The results of the present study demonstrate the dendritic atrophy of hippocampal neurons following selective subicular lesions. This might be responsible for the impairments in operant and spatial learning tasks in these rats as observed in our earlier studies. In addition, hippocampal damage is also associated with an impairment in the process of the active monitoring of movements in space, rather than place learning per se [Whishaw (1998) Neurosci. biobeh. Rev. 22, 209-220]. Accordingly, further studies are required to correlate the differential effect of subicular lesions on impairments in learning and movement in space in rats.     

Dorsal but not ventral lesions of the caudate nucleus disrupt maze learning in the rat

Learning of a series of Hebb-Williams maze problems was investigated in rats with bilateral lesions of the anterior caudate nucleus. Rats with lesions restricted to the dorsal aspect of the anterior caudate nucleus were significantly more impaired than those with lesions restricted to the ventral aspect of the anterior caudate nucleus. Maze learning performance did not differ significantly between rats with lesions of the ventral caudate nucleus and sham-operated animals. The findings were interpreted as further evidence of the particular importance of the anterodorsal caudate nucleus in the processes of learning and remembering.     

The interactions and dissociations of the dorsal hippocampus subregions: how the dentate gyrus, CA3, and CA1 process spatial information

Several studies have demonstrated the significance of a spatial cognitive map and its role for guided and accurate navigation through the environment. Learning and recalling spatial knowledge depends upon proper topological and metric spatial information processing. The present objectives are to better characterize the role of the hippocampus for processing topological and metric spatial information. Rats with dorsal hippocampal subregional lesions (dDG, dCA3, dCA1) were tested on a previously established metric task and topological task. The results of the present study suggest that dCA1, but not dDG or dCA3, mediates topological memory. Furthermore, dDG, dCA3, and dCA1 mediate metric memory. Dorsal DG is required for spatial information processing via pattern separation or orthogonalization of sensory inputs to generate metric representations. Dorsal CA3 and dCA1 then receive these metric representations transmitted from dDG along the trisynaptic loop. The present data add to a growing body of literature suggesting a diversity of function among the hippocampal subregions.     

西酞普兰对慢性应激大鼠海马CA1、CA3区神经细胞凋亡的影响

目的：探讨西酞普兰对慢性应激大鼠海马CA1、CA3神经细胞凋亡的影响。方法: 将40只雄性SD大鼠随机分为空白、对照（生理盐水灌胃）、实验1-3组（分别以8 mg·kg-1·d-1、4 mg·kg-1·d-1、1 mg·kg-1·d-1氢溴酸西酞普兰灌胃），每组8只，采用强迫游泳制造慢性应激大鼠模型，用大鼠悬尾实验、力竭实验观察行为学，苏木素伊红（HE）染色观察CA1、CA3神经细胞凋亡，脱氧核糖核苷酸末端转移酶介导的缺口末端标记法(TUNEL)检测和尼康图像分析（NIS BR）软件测量CA1、CA3神经细胞凋亡数量及积分吸光度值。结果: 对照组静止不动时间延长、挣扎次数减少，实验组静止不动时间缩短、力竭时间延长、挣扎次数增多；对照组CA1、CA3区阳性细胞增多,CA3区阳性细胞积分吸光度值变小；各实验组阳性细胞数量减少，实验1、3组CA1、CA3区阳性细胞积分吸光度值增大。结论: 西酞普兰对慢性应激大鼠海马CA1、CA3神经细胞具有保护作用，提示西酞普兰对慢性应激引起的神经精神疾病的治疗机制，可能是通过拮抗CA1、CA3区神经细胞凋亡而起作用。     

Cellular and subcellular distributions of beta1- and beta2-adrenoceptors in the CA1 and CA3 regions of the rat hippocampus

Beta-adrenoceptors (ARs) in the hippocampus play an important role in regulating synaptic plasticity and memory consolidation. However, little is known about the distributions of beta-ARs in the hippocampus, especially in the cornu ammonis (CA)1 and CA3 regions of Sprague-Dawley rats. Here, we report that beta1- and beta2-ARs in the CA1 and CA3 regions have differential subcellular distributions. Using double immunofluorescence labeling and confocal laser scanning microscopy, we found that almost all of the neuronal nuclei positive cells express beta1- and beta2-ARs, while few glial fibrillary acidic protein positive cells express them. Interestingly, beta1-ARs are predominantly distributed in the cell membrane and cytoplasm, whereas beta2-ARs are predominantly distributed not only in the membrane and cytoplasm, but also in the nucleus. The differential subcellular distribution of beta1- and beta2-ARs may have functional significance.     

Effects of ibotenic acid lesions to rat's hippocampus CA1 on place and cue learning in Morris water maze

It is known that the multiple injections of ibotenic acid to the hippocampal CA1 (Cornu Ammonis 1) field of a rat cause cell loss and spatial learning impairment in the place task of Morris water maze. However, no study seems to have been conducted concerning the cue task of the maze. This study examined (1) whether cell loss in the CA1 field produced learning deficits in both the place and cue tasks; (2) whether training could remedy the deficit in spatial learning; and (3) whether the order of place training and cue training could change the performance outcome. Thirty-seven rats of Wistar strain were divided into Place-Cue (PC) group that received place training first and then cue training, and Cue-Place (CP) group that received training in the reverse order. Half rats in each group were damaged in the CA1 field by ibotenic acid injections. Results indicated that damage to CA1 pyramidal cells led to performance deficits only in the place task throughout training, regardless of the sequence of training. The results also indicated that training in the prior task affected learning in the succeeding task, only at the beginning of training, and the effect is transient.     

The effects of selective septal lesions on theta production in CA1 and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus

The effects of selective lesions of the lateral, medial or entire septum on theta production in CA1 and dentate were studied in the chronically implanted rat. It was found that lateral septal lesions disrupted theta production in the CA1 area of the hippocampus but did not affect dentate theta. Small medial septal lesions affected both CA1 and dentate theta. Total septal lesions abolished both CA1 and dentate theta. These results suggest that the pathways mediating the theta inputs to the CA1 and dentate generators are at one point anatomically distinct.     

Contextual fear conditioning, conjunctive representations, pattern completion, and the hippocampus

Impaired contextual fear conditioning produced by damage to the hippocampus has been attributed to the loss of a conjunctive representation of the features of the context. There is, however, no direct evidence that conjunctive representations contribute to contextual fear conditioning. These experiments addressed this issue and found support for the conjunctive representation view. Two results made this point: (a) Preexposure to the conditioning context, but not to its separable features, facilitated contextual fear conditioning, and (b) generalization of fear conditioning to similar contexts was enhanced by preexposure to the context used to test for generalization. These results are interpreted as pattern completion to the preexposed context during the conditioning episode. They support the view that a conjunctive representation of context plays an important role in contextual fear conditioning and that the impairments produced by damage to the hippocampus result from the loss of this conjunctive contribution.     

Disruption of inhibition in area CA1 of the hippocampus in a rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Previous studies have revealed a loss of neurons in layer III of the entorhinal cortex (EC) in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. These neurons project to the hippocampus and may activate inhibitory interneurons, so that their loss could disrupt inhibitory function in the hippocampus. The present study evaluates this hypothesis in a rat model in which layer III neurons were selectively destroyed by focal injections of the indirect excitotoxin, aminooxyacetic acid (AOAA). Inhibitory function in the hippocampus was assessed by evaluating the discharge of CA1 neurons in response to stimulation of afferent pathways in vivo. In control animals, stimulation of the temporo-ammonic pathway leads to heterosynaptic inhibition of population spikes generated by subsequent stimulation of the commissural projection to CA1. This heterosynaptic inhibition was substantially reduced in animals that had received AOAA injections 1 mo previously. Stimulation of the commissural projection also elicited multiple population spikes in CA1 in AOAA-injected animals, and homosynaptic inhibition in response to paired-pulse stimulation of the commissural projection was dramatically diminished. These results suggest a disruption of inhibitory function in CA1 in AOAA-injected animals. To determine whether the disruption of inhibition occurred selectively in CA1, we assessed paired-pulse inhibition in the dentate gyrus. Both homosynaptic inhibition generated by paired-pulse stimulation of the perforant path, and heterosynaptic inhibition produced by activation of the commissural projection to the dentate gyrus appeared largely comparable in AOAA-injected and control animals; thus abnormalities in inhibitory function following AOAA injections occurred relatively selectively in CA1. Electrolytic lesions of the EC did not cause the same loss of inhibition as seen in animals with AOAA injections, indicating that the loss of inhibition in CA1 is not due to the loss of excitatory driving of inhibitory interneurons. Also, electrolytic lesions of the EC in animals that had been injected previously with AOAA had little effect on the abnormal physiological responses in CA1, suggesting that most alterations in inhibition in CA1 are not due to circuit abnormalities within the EC. Comparisons of control and AOAA-injected animals in a hippocampal kindling paradigm revealed that the duration of afterdischarges elicited by high-frequency stimulation of CA3, and the number of stimulations required to elicit kindled seizures were comparable. Taken together, our results reveal that the selective loss of layer III neurons induced by AOAA disrupts inhibitory function in CA1, but this does not create a circuit that is more prone to at least one form of kindling.     

Pattern of long-distance projections from fetal hippocampal field CA3 and CA1 cell grafts in lesioned CA3 of adult hippocampus follows intrinsic character of respective donor cells

Fetal hippocampal grafts transplanted to the lesioned CA3 of adult hippocampus can extend axonal projections to many regions of the host brain. However, the identity of grafted cells that project to specific host regions is unknown. We hypothesize that the pattern of long-distance axonal projections from distinct fetal hippocampal cells grafted to lesioned CA3 is specified by the intrinsic nature of respective donor cells rather than characteristics of the host graft region. We grafted fetal hippocampal CA3 or CA1 cells into kainic acid lesioned CA3 of adult hippocampus at four days post-lesion. Neurons projecting to either the contralateral hippocampus or the ipsilateral septum were then measured in these grafts at four months post-grafting using Fluoro-Gold and DiI tract tracing. CA3 grafts located close to the degenerated CA3 cell layer showed a high propensity for establishing projections into the contralateral hippocampus (commissural projections) compared to similarly located CA1 grafts, which exhibited negligible commissural projections. Similar distinction was observed between the two graft types even when they were located only partially in the lesioned CA3. Among CA3 grafts, those placed near the degenerated CA3 cell layer established significantly greater commissural projections than those placed only partially in the CA3 region. Septal projections, in contrast, were robust from both CA3 and CA1 grafts. This differential projection pattern between CA3 and CA1 grafts resembles projections of CA3 and CA1 cells in intact hippocampus.These results demonstrate that the intrinsic character of grafted fetal cells determines the type of efferent projections from fetal grafts into different targets in the lesioned adult host brain. However, the extent of efferent projections from specific grafts is also influenced by the location of grafted cells within the host region. Thus, graft-mediated appropriate reconstruction of damaged circuitry in the lesioned brain may require grafting of homotopic donor cells. Further, the robust and specific projections observed from CA3 grafts is likely beneficial for functional recovery of hippocampus following CA3 injury and hence of significance towards developing a graft-mediated therapy for human temporal lobe epilepsy.     

BK potassium channels control transmitter release at CA3–CA3 synapses in the rat hippocampus

Augmentation is a component of short-term synaptic plasticity with a gradual onset and duration in seconds. To investigate this component at the corticogeniculate synapse, whole cell patch-clamp recordings were obtained from principal cells in a slice preparation of the rat dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. Trains with 10 stimuli at 25 Hz evoked excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) that grew in amplitude, primarily from facilitation. Such trains also induced augmentation that decayed exponentially with a time constant τ= 4.6 ± 2.6 s (mean ± standard deviation). When the trains were repeated at 1–10 s intervals, augmentation markedly increased the size of the first EPSCs, leaving late EPSCs unaffected. The magnitude of augmentation was dependent on the number of pulses, pulse rate and intervals between trains. Augmented EPSCs changed proportionally to basal EPSC amplitudes following alterations in extracellular calcium ion concentration. The results indicate that augmentation is determined by residual calcium remaining in the presynaptic terminal after repetitive spikes, competing with fast facilitation. We propose that augmentation serves to maintain a high synaptic strength in the corticogeniculate positive feedback system during attentive visual exploration.     

Developmental changes in release properties of the CA3-CA1 glutamate synapse in rat hippocampus

Developmental changes in release probability (Pr) and paired-pulse plasticity at CA3-CA1 glutamate synapses in hippocampal slices of neonatal rats were examined using field excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) recordings. Paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) at these synapses was, on average, absent in the first postnatal week but emerged and became successively larger during the second postnatal week. This developmental increase in PPF was associated with a reduction in Pr, as indicated by the slower progressive block of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) EPSP by the noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801. This developmental reduction in Pr was not homogenous among the synapses. As shown by the MK-801 analysis, the Pr heterogeneity observed among adult CA3-CA1 synapses is present already during the first postnatal week, and the developmental Pr reduction was found to be largely selective for synapses with higher Pr values, leaving Pr of the vast majority of the synapses essentially unaffected. A reduction in Pves, the release probability of the individual vesicle, possibly caused by reduction in Ca2+ influx, seems to explain the reduction in Pr. In vivo injection of tetanus toxin at the end of the first postnatal week did not prevent the increase in PPF, indicating that this developmental change in release is not critically dependent on normal neural activity during the second postnatal week.     

Properties of the fast sodium channels in pyramidal neurones isolated from the CA1 and CA3 areas of the hippocampus of postnatal rats

The fast sodium (Na)current of hippocampal neurones was recorded using the intracellular perfusion method. Neurones were isolated from the CA₁ and CA₃ hippocampal subregions separately, after treatment of the tissue with trypsin. There were no differences between the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of CA₁ and CA₃ neurones. In contrast to this, the steady-state inactivation (h_∞) of both types of neurones was significantly different. Additionally, there were two subpopulations of CA₁ neurones, which showed different courses of h_∞. Compared with CA₁ neurones, the steady-state activation and inactivation curves of CA₃ neurones overlapped much more in the potential range −80 mV to −50 mV. These results are consistent with the well-known fact that CA₃ neurones show spontaneous burst activity, while CA₁ cells do not. The time constant of activation (τ_m) depended upon the membrane potential in the same way for all CA₃ neurones investigated. However, there were two different subpopulations of CA₃ cells, showing different voltage dependence of the time constant of inactivation. We conclude that these differences reflect two types of pyramidal cells within the same subregion.     

Control of IsAHP in mouse hippocampus CA1 pyramidal neurons by RyR3-mediated calcium-induced calcium release

In several neuronal preparations, the ryanodine-sensitive calcium store was reported to participate in the generation of slow afterhyperpolarization currents (IsAHP) involved in spike frequency adaptation. We show that calcium release from the ryanodine-sensitive calcium store is a major determinant of the triggering of IsAHP in mouse CA1 pyramidal neurons. Whole-cell patch clamp recordings in hippocampus slices show that the intracellular calcium stores depletion using an inhibitor of the endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺-ATPase (5 μM cyclopiazonic acid), as well as the specific blockade of ryanodine receptors (100 μM ryanodine) both reduced the IsAHP by about 70%. Immunohistology, using an anti-RyR3 specific antibody, indicates that RyR3 expression is particularly enriched in the CA1 apical dendrites (considered as the most important site for sAHP generation). We show that our anti-RyR3 antibody acts as a functional RyR3 antagonist and induced a reduction in IsAHP by about 70%. The additional ryanodine application (100 μ M) did not further affect IsAHP, thus excluding RyR2 in IsAHP activation. Our results argue in favor of a specialized function of RyR3 in CA1 pyramidal cells in triggering IsAHP due to their localization in the apical dendrite.     

肝性脑病大鼠海马CA3区神经元形态和一氧化氮合酶表达的变化

目的观察肝性脑病模型组和正常对照组大鼠脑海马CA3区神经元的变化及一氧化氮合酶(NOS)的表达;探讨海马CA3区神经元的形态学改变及一氧化氮(NO)在肝性脑病发病机制中的作用。方法雄性大鼠50只,实验开始前所有动物均进行莫里斯水迷宫测试,之后将动物分为对照组和实验组。9周后建立CCL4肝性脑病模型,分别取两组大鼠海马组织进行尼氏染色及烟酰胺腺嘌呤二核苷酸-黄递酶(NADPH-d),染色。结果尼氏染色发现,实验组大鼠海马神经元数目减少、染色较浅,胞质内尼氏体减少或消失;NADPH-d染色发现,实验组可见粗大轴突着色,树突联系广泛;对照组则少有粗大轴突着色,树突间联系不如实验组广泛。实验组NOS阳性神经元染色较对照组深,为紫蓝或深蓝色(强阳性及阳性),且阳性神经元数目较多;而对照组染色浅淡,呈浅蓝或与背景同色,为弱阳性。结论肝性脑病时海马受到损伤,NO可能介导了神经元的损伤并参与了肝硬化和肝性脑病的发病,血氨升高是肝性脑病(HE)致病因素之一。     

Activity-dependent release of adenosine contributes to short-term depression at CA3-CA1 synapses in rat hippocampus

High-frequency stimulation results in a transient, presynaptically mediated decrease in synaptic efficacy called short-term depression (STD). Stimulation of Schaffer-collateral axons at 10 Hz for 5 s resulted in approximately 75% depression of excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) slope recorded from CA1 cells in rat organotypic slice cultures. An adenosine A(1) receptor antagonist decreased the magnitude of STD elicited with 10-Hz stimulation by approximately 30%. The A(1) receptor antagonist had no effect on STD elicited with 3-Hz stimulation. The activation of A(1) receptors during 10-Hz stimulation was not due to the extracellular conversion of released ATP to adenosine, because block of 5'-ectonucleotidases did not significantly affect STD. The adenosine transport inhibitor dipyridamole did not reduce STD, indicating that adenosine was not released by facilitated transport. We conclude that 10-Hz, but not 3-Hz, stimulation causes the vesicular release of adenosine and the rapid (<3 s) activation of presynaptic inhibitory A(1) receptors, which account for approximately 40% of homosynaptic EPSC depression.