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[High-frequency stimulation on soma induces long-term potentiation of intrinsic excitability in VTA dopamine neurons.] [Article in Chinese]

Wei Chun-Ling, Liu Zhi-Qiang, LIU Yi-Hui^*, REN Wei

Key Laboratory of MOE for Modern Teaching Technology and College of Life Science, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China

Abstract

Ventral tegmental area (VTA) is an important relay station of signal transmission in the reward system. The plasticity of VTA dopaminergic neurons directly influences actions of other regions of the reward system. Studies concerning the plasticity of VTA dopaminergic neurons focus mainly on synaptic plasticity, while much less attention has been given to the plasticity of intrinsic excitability of the neurons. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of high-frequency stimulation (HFS) on the plasticity of excitability of VTA neuron. Whole-cell patch-clamping was performed on VTA dopaminergic neurons in midbrain slices bathed with PTX, AP-5 and CNQX, and HFS was introduced to cell soma. The result showed that, after HFS induction the pharmacologically isolated neurons showed increased input resistance and firing frequency, as well as decreased rheobase. Meanwhile, the steady-state whole-cell current decreased, and the hyperpolarization-activated current (I(h)) decreased. These results suggest that HFS on soma induces a long-term potentiation of excitability in VTA dopaminergic neurons, and the underlying mechanism involves the changes of membrane current.

Key words: ventral tegmental area; dopaminergic neurons; neuronal excitability; plasticity of excitability

Received: 2012-05-04　　Accepted: 2012-08-07

Corresponding author: 刘一辉　　E-mail: liu.y.hui@gmail.com

Citing This Article：

Wei Chun-Ling, Liu Zhi-Qiang, LIU Yi-Hui, REN Wei. [High-frequency stimulation on soma induces long-term potentiation of intrinsic excitability in VTA dopamine neurons.] [Article in Chinese]. Acta Physiol Sin 2013; 65 (1): 55-60 (in Chinese with English abstract).