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Cortical Plasticity Induced by Inhibitory Neuron Transplantation

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: Critical periods are times of pronounced brain plasticity. During a critical period in the postnatal development of the visual cortex, the occlusion of one eye triggers a rapid reorganization of neuronal responses, a process known as ocular dominance plasticity. We have shown that the transplantation of inhibitory neurons induces ocular dominance plasticity after the critical period. Transplanted inhibitory neurons receive excitatory synapses, make inhibitory synapses onto host cortical neurons, and promote plasticity when they reach a cellular age equivalent to that of endogenous inhibitory neurons during the normal critical period. These findings suggest that ocular dominance plasticity is regulated by the execution of a maturational program intrinsic to inhibitory neurons. By inducing plasticity, inhibitory neuron transplantation may facilitate brain repair.

Source: Science

DOI: 10.1126/science.1183962

Authors: Derek G. Southwell, Robert C. Froemke, Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, Michael P. Stryker, Sunil P. Gandhi

Institution: University of California, San Francisco

Language: English

Topic: Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms

Subfield: Developmental Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Eye Institute, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke