Long-term potentiation is independent of the C-tail of the GluA1 AMPA receptor subunit

Abstract

We tested the proposal that the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the AMPAR subunit GluA1 is required for LTP. We found that a knock-in mouse lacking the CTD of GluA1 expresses normal LTP and spatial memory, assayed by the Morris water maze. Our results support a model in which LTP generates synaptic slots, which capture passively diffusing AMPARs.

Keywords

• long-term potentiation
• synaptic plasticity
• AMPA receptor
• spatial learning
• hippocampus
• memory formation