Silent synapses in the immature visual cortex: Layer-specific developmental regulation

Central glutamatergic synapses are thought to initially form as immature, so-called silent synapses showing exclusively N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-mediated synaptic transmission. Postsynaptic insertion of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors during further development leads to a conversion into functional, mature synapses. Here, we tested the hypothesis that, according to the "inside first-outside last" pattern of neocortical layer formation and synaptogenesis, pyramidal cells in the superficial layers might show a higher fraction of silent synapses compared with pyramidal cells in the deep layers. We performed an electrophysiological analysis of glutamatergic synapses in acute rat visual cortex slices during postnatal development. In layer VI pyramidal neurons the incidence of silent synapses was high during the first postnatal week and strongly declined during further development. Surprisingly, in superficial cortical plate pyramidal neurons ( immature layers II/III), the fraction of silent synapses was initially very low and increased up to the second postnatal week. Thereafter, a similar decline as found in layer VI pyramidal neurons was observed. Thus the developmental regulation of silent synapses was clearly different in pyramidal neurons from different neocortical layers. The almost complete absence of silent synapses at early stages in layer II/III pyramidal neurons indicates that an initially formed subset of synapses is constitutively functional. This might be important to enable spontaneous activity and latter activity-dependent maturation of synapses.