Short report
LTP induction within a narrow critical period of immature stages enhances the survival of newly generated neurons in the adult rat dentate gyrus
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* Corresponding author: Kaoru Inokuchi inokuchi@med.u-toyama.ac.jp
1 Mitsubishi Kagaku Institute of Life Sciences, MITILS, 11 Minamiooya, Machida, Tokyo, 194-8511, Japan
2 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
3 Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, Kawaguchi 332-0012, Japan
4 Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
Molecular Brain 2010, 3:13 doi:10.1186/1756-6606-3-13
Published: 28 April 2010Abstract
Neurogenesis occurs in the adult hippocampus of various animal species. A substantial fraction of newly generated neurons die before they mature, and the survival rate of new neurons are regulated in an experience-dependent manner. Previous study showed that high-frequency stimulation (HFS) of perforant path fibers to the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) induces the long-term potentiation (LTP) in the DG, and enhances the survival of newly generated neurons in the DG. In this study, we addressed whether a time period exists during which the survival of new neurons is maximally sensitive to the HFS. We found that the enhancement of cell survival by HFS was exclusively restricted to the specific narrow period during immature stages of new neurons (7-10 days after birth). Furthermore, the pharmacological blockade of LTP induction suppressed the enhancement of cell survival by the HFS. These results suggest that the LTP induction within a narrow critical period of immature stages enhances the survival of newly generated neurons in rat DG.