Bidirectional Control of Quantal Size by Synaptic Activity in the Hippocampus

Analysis of strontium-induced asynchronous release of quanta from stimulated synapses revealed that long-term potentiation and long-term depression in the CA1 region of the mammalian hippocampus are associated with an increase and a decrease, respectively, in quantal size. At a single set of synapses, the increase in quantal size seen with long-term potentiation was completely reversed by depotentiating stimuli. Long-term potentiation and depression are also associated with an increase and decrease, respectively, in the frequency of quantal events, consistent with an all-or-none regulation (up or down) of clusters of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors, a change in the release of transmitter, or both.