M. Gutowski et al., SYNAPTIC PLASTICITY IN THE CA1 AND CA3 HIPPOCAMPAL REGION OF PRENATALLY AND POSTNATALLY LEAD-EXPOSED RATS, Toxicology letters, 95(3), 1998, pp. 195-203
The effects of low level lead exposure on synaptic plasticity in hippo
campal regions CA1 and CA3 were determined in adult rats in vitro. In
the CA3 region the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate)-independent mossy fiber
-CA3 synapse potentiation was not influenced by chronic pre- and postn
atal lead exposure, while in the same rats, in the CA1 region the NMDA
-dependent long-term potentiation was slightly reduced as compared to
controls. Paired-pulse facilitation was neither impaired in CA1 nor in
CA3 region in the lead-exposed rats. These findings suggest that NMDA
-dependent forms of synaptic plasticity are more susceptible to chroni
c low level lead exposure than NMDA-independent forms of potentiation
or paired-pulse facilitation. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. A
ll rights reserved.