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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 583/1/315    most recent jphysiol.2007.134726v1 Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kron, M. Articles by Dutschmann, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kron, M. Articles by Dutschmann, M. Related Collections Respiratory

¹ Department of Neuro and Sensory Physiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-University, Humboldtallee 23, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
² Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Research Center for Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CMPB), Humboldtallee 23, 37073 Göttingen, Germany

The Kölliker–Fuse nucleus (KF), part of the respiratory network, is involved in the modulation of respiratory phase durations in response to peripheral and central afferent inputs. The KF is immature at birth. Developmental changes in its physiological and anatomical properties have yet to be investigated. Since brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is of major importance for the maturation of neuronal networks, we investigated its effects on developmental changes in the KF on different postnatal days (neonatal, P1–5; intermediate, P6–13; juvenile, P14–21) by analysing single neurones in the in vitro slice preparation and network activities in the perfused brainstem preparation in situ. The BDNF had only weak effects on the frequency of mixed excitatory and inhibitory spontaneous postsynaptic currents (sPSCs) in neonatal slice preparations. Postnatally, in the intermediate and juvenile age groups, a significant augmentation of the sPSC frequency was observed in the presence of 100 pM BDNF (+23.5 ± 12.6 and +76.7 ± 28.4%, respectively). Subsequent analyses of BDNF effects on evoked excitatory postsynaptic currents (eEPSCs) revealed significant enhancement of eEPSC amplitude of +20.8 ± 7.0% only in juvenile stages (intermediates, –13.2 ± 4.8%). On the network level, significant modulation of phrenic nerve activity following BDNF microinjection into the KF was also observed only in juveniles. The data suggest that KF neurones are subject to BDNF-mediated fast synaptic modulation after completion of postnatal maturation. After maturation, BDNF contributes to modulation of fast excitatory neurotransmission in respiratory-related KF neurones. This may be important for network plasticity associated with the processing of afferent information.

(Received 2 May 2007; accepted after revision 10 May 2007; first published online 14 June 2007)
Corresponding author M. Dutschmann: Department of Neuro and Sensory Physiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-University, Humboldtallee 23, 37073 Göttingen, Germany. Email: mdutsch{at}gwdg.de

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