SOMATIC RIBOSOMAL CHANGES INDUCED BY LONG-TERM POTENTIATION OF THE PERFORANT PATH HIPPOCAMPAL CA1 SYNAPSES

The present study quantified ribosomes, as an ultrastructural marker o f neuronal protein synthesis, following long-term potentiation (LTP) i n the hippocampal CA1 region in vitro. Sixty min after LTP-inducing, h igh-frequency stimulation of the perforant path, the total number of r ibosomes, the number of polysomes, and the number of membrane-bound ri bosomes increased significantly. These increases are a postsynaptic mo rphological correlate consistent with enhanced protein synthesis follo wing the induction of LTP in the perforant path-CA1 system.