Thomas Munsch

Senior Research Scientist at the Institute of Physiology, Medical Faculty at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is crucial for many forms of synaptic plasticity. Recent evidence suggests an activity-dependent release from pre- and postsynaptic compartments, leading to different forms of plasticity. To further reveal the mechanisms and neuromodulatory regulation of BDNF, we established physiologically relevant spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) paradigms for amygdala slice preparations. Currently, we investigate the contribution of BDNF-dependent intracellular signaling pathways to this type of synaptic plasticity. Recently, endogenous BDNF has been localized to dendrites and dendritic spines of CA1 neurons of hippocampal slice cultures, confirming plasticity-related release of BDNF from postsynaptic dendrites. However, it remains to be demonstrated when and where endogenous BDNF release and TrkB activation occur in acute hippocampal slice preparations. As a first step, we prepared hippocampal slices from a transgenic mouse strain endogenously expressing BDNF-EGFP and, using spectral confocal imaging and linear unmixing, could localize BDNF to somata and proximal dendrites of CA3 and CA1 neurons.

Keywords: ion channels – synaptic plasticity – second messengers – BDNF – oscillations

Location: OVGU (FME)

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