Long-term potentiation and discrimination learning
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: Psychology, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Skelton, Ronald William
issued: 2010-05-02T23:29:31Z
issued: 1982
related degree: Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Recent electrophysiological studies have shown that electrical brain stimulation (EBS) can produce lasting increases in synaptic efficacy, defined as the quantitative relationship between pre- and postsynaptic activity. However, the behavioural significance of this long-term potentiation (LTP) has yet to be demonstrated clearly. The principal objective of this thesis was to determine whether increased synaptic efficacy, produced by high-frequency EBS, enhances behavioural responses to a fixed amount of presynaptic activity. Following identification of EBS parameters capable of monitoring synaptic efficacy for long periods without producing LTP, a paradigm was developed in which a single-pulse of EBS in the perforant path (PP) acquired stimulus control over the temporal pattern of operant responses. In this paradigm, postsynaptic evoked potentials in the dentate gyrus (DG) produced by the PP EBS were used to monitor synaptic efficacy on every trial of conditioning and also to measure one component of the neural activity generated by the EBS stimulus controlling the operant responses. In Experiment 3, high-frequency stimulation of the PP produced- LTP at the PP-DG synaptic interface and facilitated subsequent acquisition of stimulus control by the single pulse PP EBS. This effect could not have been due to sensitization or to the stimulus properties of the high-frequency trains. The final experiment confirmed the importance of the EBS-evoked activity in the DG to the stimulus control by the PP EBS. The rate of acquisition was directly related to the magnitude of the evoked potentials and two-stage bilateral lesions of the PP in a specific sequence reduced the probability of behavioural responses to the EBS. Taken together, these results indicate that the behavioural consequence of excitatory neural activity can be enhanced by an increase in synaptic efficacy. As such, they provide considerable support for the validity of LTP as a model of neural changes subserving lea…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/24364
note: LONG-TERM POTENTIATION AND DISCRIMINATION LEARNING by RONALD WILLIAM SKELTON B.Sc, Bishop's University, 1973 M.A., Concordia University, 1978 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY We accept t h i s thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA November 1982 (c) Ronald William Skelton, 1982 In presenting t h i s thesis i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the Library s h a l l make i t f r e e l y available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of t h i s thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. I t i s understood that copying or publication of t h i s thesis for f i n a n c i a l gain s h a l l not be allowed without my written permission. Department of ^Sp) t v A s * / y The University of B r i t i s h Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3 Date /?-e^~-.<4-t~^ "2- , / 9 * DE-6 (3/81) i i ABSTRACT Recent electrophysiological studies have shown that e l e c t r i c a l brain stimulation (EBS) can produce l a s t i n g increases in synaptic e f f i c a c y , defined as the quantitative relationship between pre- and postsynaptic a c t i v i t y . However, the behavioural significance of t h i s long-term potentiation (LTP) has yet to be demonstrated c l e a r l y . The p r i n c i p a l objective of t h i s thesis was to determine whether increased synaptic e f f i c a c y , produced by high-frequency EBS, enhances behavioural responses to a fixed amount of presynaptic a c t i v i t y . Following i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of EBS parameters capable of monitoring synaptic e f f i c a c y for long periods without producing LTP, a paradigm was developed in which a single-pulse of EBS in the perforan…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0095912
language: eng
degree discipline: Psychology
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/24364