MULTIPLE FORMS OF LONG-TERM POTENTIATION AND MULTIPLE REGULATORY SITES OF N-METHYL-D-ASPARTATE RECEPTORS - ROLE OF THE REDOX SITE

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a form of synaptic plasticity thought to be involved in learning and memory, Although extensively studied, m ainly in the CA1 region of the hippocampus, the mechanisms underlying the induction and expression of LTP are poorly elucidated, This is pro bably due to the fact that LTP is not a unique process and indeed rece nt studies have shown that several forms of LTP could be generated dep ending on the experimental conditions, Furthermore, LTP is generally a ssociated with a long-lasting increase of the synaptic efficacy of AMP A receptors but an increasing number of data also suggested that NMDA receptors could be potentiated as well, NMDA receptor responses are mo dulated by a large number of extracellular and intracellular events, p roviding additional possibilities for the generation of LTP, The role of these different modulatory sites of the NMDA receptor and their rel ation with LTP are reviewed with a particular attention to the redox s ite which seems to be a selective target to distinguish between AMPA a nd NMDA-LTP. (C) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.