title: Rapid functional maturation of nascent dendritic spines.
abstract: Spine growth and retraction with synapse formation and elimination plays an important role in shaping brain circuits during development and in the adult brain, yet the temporal relationship between spine morphogenesis and the formation of functional synapses remains poorly defined. We imaged hippocampal pyramidal neurons to identify spines of different ages. We then used two-photon glutamate uncaging, whole-cell recording, and Ca(2+) imaging to analyze the properties of nascent spines and their older neighbors. New spines expressed glutamate-sensitive currents that were indistinguishable from mature spines of comparable volumes. Some spines exhibited negligible AMPA receptor-mediated responses, but the occurrence of these "silent" spines was uncorrelated with spine age. In contrast, NMDA receptor-mediated Ca(2+) accumulations were significantly lower in new spines. New spines reconstructed using electron microscopy made synapses. Our data support a model in which outgrowth and enlargement of nascent spines is tightly coupled to formation and maturation of glutamatergic synapses.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA. kzito@ucdavis.edu
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zito
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Scheuss
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Knott
authors.forename: Travis
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: Karel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Svoboda
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051381:Rats; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000378:metabolism*; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013570:Synaptic Membranes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D002118:Calcium