title: Spontaneous Network Activity and Synaptic Development.
abstract: Throughout development, the nervous system produces patterned spontaneous activity. Research over the past two decades has revealed a core group of mechanisms that mediate spontaneous activity in diverse circuits. Many circuits engage several of these mechanisms sequentially to accommodate developmental changes in connectivity. In addition to shared mechanisms, activity propagates through developing circuits and neuronal pathways (i.e., linked circuits in different brain areas) in stereotypic patterns. Increasing evidence suggests that spontaneous network activity shapes synaptic development in vivo Variations in activity-dependent plasticity may explain how similar mechanisms and patterns of activity can be employed to establish diverse circuits. Here, I will review common mechanisms and patterns of spontaneous activity in emerging neural networks and discuss recent insights into their contribution to synaptic development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA dkerschensteiner@wustl.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kerschensteiner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: circuit mechanisms; connectivity; patterned activity; plasticity; synaptogenesis; waves