Compensatory changes in cellular excitability, not synaptic scaling, contribute to homeostatic recovery of embryonic network activity.

ABSTRACT: When neuronal activity is reduced over a period of days, compensatory changes in synaptic strength and/or cellular excitability are triggered, which are thought to act in a manner to homeostatically recover normal activity levels. The time course over which changes in homeostatic synaptic strength and cellular excitability occur are not clear. Although many studies show that 1-2 days of activity block are necessary to trigger increases in excitatory quantal strength, few studies have been able to examine whether these mechanisms actually underlie recovery of network activity. Here, we examine the mechanisms underlying recovery of embryonic motor activity following block of either excitatory GABAergic or glutamatergic inputs in vivo. We find that GABA(A) receptor blockade triggers fast chan

SUBMITTER: Wilhelm JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2672480 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature