title: Experience-dependent plasticity of dendritic spines of layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons in the mouse cortex.
abstract: Previous studies have shown that sensory and motor experiences play an important role in the remodeling of dendritic spines of layer 5 (L5) pyramidal neurons in the cortex. In this study, we examined the effects of sensory deprivation and motor learning on dendritic spine remodeling of layer 2/3 (L2/3) pyramidal neurons in the barrel and motor cortices. Similar to L5 pyramidal neurons, spines on apical dendrites of L2/3 pyramidal neurons are plastic during development and largely stable in adulthood. Sensory deprivation via whisker trimming reduces the elimination rate of existing spines without significant effect on the rate of spine formation in the developing barrel cortex. Furthermore, we show that motor training increases the formation and elimination of dendritic spines in the primary motor cortex. Unlike L5 pyramidal neurons, however, there is no significant difference in the rate of spine formation between sibling dendritic branches of L2/3 pyramidal neurons. Our studies indicate that sensory and motor learning experiences have important impact on dendritic spine remodeling in L2/3 pyramidal neurons. They also suggest that the rules governing experience-dependent spine remodeling are largely similar, but not identical, between L2/3 and L5 pyramidal neurons.
authors.affiliation: Drug Discovery Center, Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Drug Discovery Center, Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: Skirball Institute, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Jin-Wu
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Guang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Drug Discovery Center, Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Drug Discovery Center, Key Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China.|Skirball Institute, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Wen-Biao
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Gan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018274:Electroporation; D005260:Female; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: dendritic spines; motor learning; spine remodeling; two-photon imaging; whisker trimming