title: Motor skill learning requires active central myelination.
abstract: Myelin-forming oligodendrocytes (OLs) are formed continuously in the healthy adult brain. In this work, we study the function of these late-forming cells and the myelin they produce. Learning a new motor skill (such as juggling) alters the structure of the brain's white matter, which contains many OLs, suggesting that late-born OLs might contribute to motor learning. Consistent with this idea, we show that production of newly formed OLs is briefly accelerated in mice that learn a new skill (running on a "complex wheel" with irregularly spaced rungs). By genetically manipulating the transcription factor myelin regulatory factor in OL precursors, we blocked production of new OLs during adulthood without affecting preexisting OLs or myelin. This prevented the mice from mastering the complex wheel. Thus, generation of new OLs and myelin is important for learning motor skills.
authors.affiliation: The Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: Ian A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: McKenzie
authors.affiliation: The Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ohayon
authors.affiliation: The Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: Huiliang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: Joana Paes
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: de Faria
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience and the Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Emery
authors.affiliation: The Center for Electron Microscopy and Bio-Imaging Research, Iwate Medical University, 19-1 Uchimuru, Morioka, Iwate 020-8505, Japan.
authors.forename: Koujiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tohyama
authors.affiliation: The Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK. w.richardson@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Richardson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D017353:Gene Deletion; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014157:Transcription Factors; C571125:myelin gene regulatory factor, mouse