Two forms of synaptic plasticity with distinct dependence on age, experience, and NMDA receptor subtype in rat visual cortex.

In visual cortex, NMDA receptor (NMDAR) properties depend primarily on NR2A and NR2B subunits, and NR2 subunit composition changes with age and visual experience. We examined the roles of these NR2 subunits in activity-dependent long-term modification of synaptic responses, which were evoked in layer 2/3 cells by stimulation of layer 4 in rat visual cortical slices. We used theta-burst stimulation (TBS) of presynaptic fibers or low-frequency stimulation paired with postsynaptic depolarization, which has been commonly used to induce NMDAR-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) in visual cortex. In pyramidal cells, however, TBS produced long-term depression (LTD) at inhibitory synapses rather than LTP at excitatory synapses. This was observed in association with LTP of extracellular field potentials that reflect postsynaptic potentials in a population of cells (field-LTP). This result is inconsistent with the previous view that field-LTP reflects LTP of excitatory connections. However, pairing stimulation produced LTP at excitatory synapses of pyramidal cells frequently during development but rarely in adulthood. In contrast, inhibitory LTD and field-LTP occurred similarly in both developing and mature cortex. Experiments using NR2B selective and NR2 subunit nonselective NMDAR antagonists demonstrated that NR2A- and NR2B-containing NMDARs contribute selectively to inhibitory LTD-field-LTP and excitatory LTP, respectively. In addition, we found that the developmental decline in the NR2B component was paralleled by a decline in the incidence of excitatory LTP, and these declines were both prevented by dark rearing. These results implicate NR2 subunit composition in the regulation of neocortical plasticity and demonstrate differential subunit regulation at inhibitory and excitatory connections.