hide
Free keywords:
ACTIVITY-DEPENDENT REGULATION; CAT STRIATE CORTEX; LONG-TERM;
FUNCTIONAL REORGANIZATION; HIPPOCAMPAL-NEURONS; IN-VIVO; RETINAL
LESIONS; RAT HIPPOCAMPUS; SPINE GROWTH; AREA 17Neurosciences;
Abstract:
A fundamental property of neuronal circuits is the ability to adapt to
altered sensory inputs. It is well established that the functional
synaptic changes underlying this adaptation are reflected by structural
modifications in excitatory neurons. In contrast, the degree to which
structural plasticity in inhibitory neurons accompanies functional
changes is less clear. Here, we use two-photon imaging to monitor the
fine structure of inhibitory neurons in mouse visual cortex after
deprivation induced by retinal lesions. We find that a subset of
inhibitory neurons carry dendritic spines, which form glutamatergic
synapses. Removal of visual input correlates with a rapid and lasting
reduction in the number of inhibitory cell spines. Similar to the
effects seen for dendritic spines, the number of inhibitory neuron
boutons dropped sharply after retinal lesions. Together, these data
suggest that structural changes in inhibitory neurons may precede
structural changes in excitatory circuitry, which ultimately result in
functional adaptation following sensory deprivation.
