Presynaptic inhibitory G protein-coupled receptors play a critical role in regulating transmission at a number of synapses in the central and peripheral nervous system. We generated transgenic mice that express a constitutively active form of an inhibitory G␣ subunit to examine the molecular mechanisms underlying the actions of one such receptor, metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR) 2, at mossy fiber-CA3 synapses in the hippocampus. mGluR2 participates in at least three types of mossy fiber synaptic plasticity, (i) transient suppression of synaptic transmission, (ii) long-term depression (LTD), and (iii) inhibition of long-term potentiation (LTP), and we find that inhibitory G␣ signaling is sufficient to account for the actions of mGluR2 in each. The fact that constitutively active G␣ i2 occludes the transient suppression of synaptic transmission by mGluR2, while enhancing LTD, suggests further that these two forms of plasticity are expressed via different mechanisms. In addition, the LTP deficit observed in constitutively active G␣ i2-expressing mice suggests that mGluR2 activation may serve as a metaplastic switch to permit the induction of LTD by inhibiting LTP.O ne important mechanism whereby neuronal activity is controlled is through the action of presynaptic inhibitory G protein-coupled receptors (1, 2). One member of this group is the metabotropic glutamate receptor, mGluR2, which is present at mossy fiber-CA3 pyramidal cell synapses. Here, mGluR2s are localized perisynaptically near presynaptic terminals (3, 4), where they are thought to function as autoreceptors to suppress transmission in response to excess glutamate release. Pharmacological and genetic manipulations have shown that mGluR2s participate in at least three types of synaptic plasticity: (i) a transient suppression of synaptic transmission that occurs in response to receptor activation, (ii) a persistent form of synaptic depression requiring both mGluR2 activation and presynaptic calcium influx (long-term depression, LTD), and (iii) mGluR2-mediated inhibition of long-term potentiation (LTP) (5, 6).The relationship among these forms of mossy fiber-CA3 synaptic plasticity and the mechanism of mGluR2 involvement in each is not completely clear. Does the involvement of mGluR2 in both transient and persistent synaptic depression reflect a common mechanism, such that the persistent form merely results from a stabilization of the transient form, or does mGluR2 participate in these two processes via independent mechanisms? Similarly, does the inhibition of LTP by group II mGluR activation reflect opposing actions on a common effector pathway for depression and potentiation, or a permissive role for mGluR2 in inducing LTD by blocking LTP? We have begun to address these questions by exploring the signaling pathway downstream of mGluR2 using transgenic mice that express a constitutively active form of G␣ i2 . We find that the effects of mGluR2 on mossy fiber synaptic plasticity can be accounted for by the actions of inhibitory G␣ subunits. However,...