title: Development of long-term dendritic spine stability in diverse regions of cerebral cortex.
abstract: Synapse formation and elimination occur throughout life, but the magnitude of such changes at distinct developmental stages remains unclear. Using transgenic mice overexpressing yellow fluorescent protein and transcranial two-photon microscopy, we repeatedly imaged dendritic spines on the apical dendrites of layer 5 pyramidal neurons. In young adolescent mice (1-month-old), 13%-20% of spines were eliminated and 5%-8% formed over 2 weeks in barrel, motor, and frontal cortices, indicating a cortical-wide spine loss during this developmental period. As animals mature, there is also a substantial loss of dendritic filopodia involved in spinogenesis. In adult mice (4-6 months old), 3%-5% of spines were eliminated and formed over 2 weeks in various cortical regions. Over 18 months, only 26% of spines were eliminated and 19% formed in adult barrel cortex. Thus, after a concurrent loss of spines and spine precursors in diverse regions of young adolescent cortex, spines become stable and a majority of them can last throughout life.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Neurobiology Program, Skirball Institute, Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, New York University School of Medicine, NY 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.forename: Aerie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Wen-Biao
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Gan
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000254:growth & development*; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000502:physiology*; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic
chemical_list: D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins