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BACKGROUND: Synaptic burst activation feeds back as a short-term depression of release probability at hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses. This short-term synaptic plasticity requires functional astrocytes and it affects both the recently active (< 1 s) synapses (post-burst depression) as well as inactive neighboring synapses (transient heterosynaptic depression). The aim of this study was to investigate
Many neurons typically fire action potentials in brief, high-frequency bursts with specific consequences for their synaptic output. Here we have examined short-term plasticity engaged during burst activation using electrophysiological recordings in acute rat hippocampal slices. We show that CA3-CA1 glutamate synapses exhibit a prominent depression of presynaptic release probability for approximate
Pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) include synaptic and neuronal degeneration and the presence of extracellular deposits of amyloid-beta (Abeta) in senile plaques in the cerebral cortex. Although these brain lesions may be seen also in aged non-demented individuals, the increase in brain Abeta is believed by many to represent the earliest event in the disease process. Accumulating
Active synapses can reduce the probability of transmitter release at neighbouring synapses. Depending on whether such heterosynaptic depression is mediated by intersynaptic diffusion of transmitter or by release of gliotransmitters, astrocytes should either hinder or promote the heterosynaptic depression. In the present study we have examined the developmental profile and astrocytic involvement in
A major challenge in neuroscience is to resolve the connection between gene functionality, neuronal circuits, and behavior. Most, if not all, neuronal circuits of the adult brain contain a glutamatergic component, the nature of which has been difficult to assess because of the vast cellular abundance of glutamate. In this study, we wanted to determine the role of a restricted subpopulation of glut
Transportation accounts for a large and growing part of carbon dioxide emissions. With an increasing vehicle fleet worldwide private car use is becoming an acute problem in need of urgent attention and action. Policy interference and cleaner cars are not enough; alternative fuel vehicles such as electric vehicles need to be adopted by consumers as well. Previous research on pro-environmental consu
The Internet allows people to freely navigate through news and use that information to reinforce or support their own beliefs in, for example, different social networks. In this chapter we suggest that the representation of current predominant views in the news can be seen as collective expressions within a society. Seeing that the notion of what makes individuals happy has been of increasing inte
Although they are often subjected to critical scrutiny, formal geopolitical practices have rarely been put on trial. One exception is the case of Gudmund Hatt (1884-1960), professor of human geography at Copenhagen University from 1929 to 1947, who was found guilty of “dishonorable national conduct” for his geopolitics during the German occupation. As a contribution to the critical history of geop
Over the past decades, a ‘neoclassical geopolitics’ has emerged in and beyond the field of International Relations. This diverse practice reproduces many of the problems that characterised classical geopolitics, notably an excessive tendency to explain politics on the basis of ostensibly permanent geographical factors. As a contribution to the interdisciplinary dialogue between International Relat
