DI-receptor dependent synaptic potentiation in the basal ganglia of quail chicks

Properties of local synapses were analyzed in lobus parolfactorius (LPO; av ian homologue of caudate-nucleus) of quail chicks by using slice preparatio ns in vitro. Field-potential extracellular and whole-cell intracellular rec ordings revealed excitatory synaptic inputs converging from dorsal and vent ral regions within LPO. With exogenous dopamine (100 muM) in the perfusate, synchronized conditioning stimulation induced biased changes in the dorsal and the ventral inputs; potentiation in the dorsal input and depression in the ventral input in average. On the other hand, de-synchronized condition ing failed to induce such biased changes, although the differences were not statistically significant. SCH-23390 (3 muM) blocked the dorsal potentiati on, while AP-5 (100 muM) tended to block both of these changes. The plastic nature may underlie the memory formation in appetitive/aversive learning t asks. NeuroReport 12:2831-2837 (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.