Nature Neuroscience
1, 273 - 275 (1998)
doi:10.1038/1086
A role for NMDA-receptor channels in working memoryJohn E. Lisman1, Jean-Marc Fellous2
& Xiao-Jing Wang11
Brandeis University, Volen Center for Complex Systems
, Waltham, Massachusetts 02254-9110,
USA 2
The Salk Insitute for Biological Sciences,
La Jolla, California 92037 USA
Correspondence should be addressed to John E. Lisman lisman@binah.cc.brandeis.eduThe NMDA class of glutamate receptors has a critical role in the induction
of long-term potentiation (LTP), a synaptic modification that may encode some
forms of long-term memory. However, NMDA-receptor antagonists disrupt a variety
of mental processes1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6 that are not dependent on
long-term memory. For example, they interfere with working memory1,
6,
a short-lasting form of memory that is maintained by neuronal activity7 rather than by synaptic modification. This suggests that there are
unknown functions of the NMDA-receptor channel. One hint is that in addition
to producing the calcium entry important for LTP induction, NMDA-receptor
channels produce voltage-dependent excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs)8. Here, we use a network model to show that such NMDA-receptor-mediated
EPSPs could be critical in maintaining working memory. These results provide
a mechanistic framework useful in understanding dopamine-NMDA interactions
in working memory and the disruption of working memory in schizophrenia.
|
