Dr. Hsu, Ching-Lung
Assistant Research Fellow
- 2789-9130 (Lab) (Room No: R315)
- 2652-3909 (Office)
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Specialty:
Synaptic transmission and plasticity
Ion channels
Dendritic integration
In-vitro and in-vivo patch-clamp recording
Computational modeling
Education and Positions:
Highlight Detail
Dendritic sodium spikes are required for long-term potentiation at distal synapses on hippocampal pyramidal neurons
Dr. Hsu, Ching-Lung
eLife, Aug 06, 2015Abstract:
Dendritic integration of synaptic inputs mediates rapid neural computation as well as longer-lasting plasticity. Several channel types can mediate dendritically initiated spikes (dSpikes), which may impact information processing and storage across multiple timescales; however, the roles of different channels in the rapid vs long-term effects of dSpikes are unknown. We show here that dSpikes mediated by Nav channels (blocked by a low concentration of TTX) are required for long-term potentiation (LTP) in the distal apical dendrites of hippocampal pyramidal neurons. Furthermore, imaging, simulations, and buffering experiments all support a model whereby fast Nav channel-mediated dSpikes (Na-dSpikes) contribute to LTP induction by promoting large, transient, localized increases in intracellular calcium concentration near the calcium-conducting pores of NMDAR and L-type Cav channels. Thus, in addition to contributing to rapid neural processing, Na-dSpikes are likely to contribute to memory formation via their role in long-lasting synaptic plasticity.