Figure 4. Excessive sensory stimulation (ESS) during development enhances excitatory tone in the basal amygdala (BA). a, b, Top, Representative mEPSC traces from BA (a) and lateral amygdala (LA) (b) principal neurons in slices from ESS and control (CON) mice. Bottom, Exposure to ESS during development significantly increased the frequency of mEPSCs in the BA (a, left: *p = 0.03; n = 16-17 cells/group; N = 4-9 mice/group) but not in the LA (b, left: n = 10 cells/group; N = 3-4 mice/group) compared with CON mice. There was no effect of this manipulation during development on the amplitude of mEPSCs in the BA (a, right) or in the LA (b, right). Middle, Cumulative probability distribution for interevent interval (left) and amplitude (right) of mEPSCs in BA (a, center) and LA (b, center) neurons. c, Top, Representative mIPSC traces from BA principal neurons in slices from ESS and CON mice. Bottom, Exposure to ESS during development had no effect on the frequency (left) or the amplitude (right) of mIPSCs in the BA compared to that for CON mice (n = 8-10 cells/group; N = 3-4 mice/group). Middle, Cumulative probability distribution for the interevent interval (left) and amplitude (right) of mIPSCs in BA neurons. d, Top, Representative mEPSC traces from BA principal neurons in slices from adult ESS and CON mice 2 months after the end of the stimulation protocol. Bottom, The mEPSC frequency (d, left: *p = 0.05; n = 11-13 cells/group; N = 3-4 mice/group) but not amplitude (right) was significantly increased 2 months following the end of ESS. Middle, Cumulative probability distribution for the interevent interval (left) and amplitude (right) of mEPSCs in BA neurons 2 months following the end of ESS. Calibration (b–e): 20 pA (vertical axis), 50 ms (horizontal axis). Data represent the mean ± SEM.