Requirement of ERK activation for visual cortical plasticity

Experience-dependent plasticity in the developing visual cortex depends on electrical activity and molecular signals involved in stabilization or remo val of inputs. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1,2 (also called p42/4 4 mitogen-activated protein kinase) activation in the cortex is regulated b y both factors. We show that two different inhibitors of the ERK pathway su ppress the induction of two forms of long-term potentiation (LTP) in rat co rtical slices and that their intracortical administration to monocularly de prived rats prevents the shift in ocular dominance towards the nondeprived eye. These results demonstrate that the ERK pathway is necessary for experi ence-dependent plasticity and for LTP of synaptic transmission in the devel oping visual cortex.