title: CREB Regulates Experience-Dependent Spine Formation and Enlargement in Mouse Barrel Cortex.
abstract: Experience modifies synaptic connectivity through processes that involve dendritic spine rearrangements in neuronal circuits. Although cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) has a key function in spines changes, its role in activity-dependent rearrangements in brain regions of rodents interacting with the surrounding environment has received little attention so far. Here we studied the effects of vibrissae trimming, a widely used model of sensory deprivation-induced cortical plasticity, on processes associated with dendritic spine rearrangements in the barrel cortex of a transgenic mouse model of CREB downregulation (mCREB mice). We found that sensory deprivation through prolonged whisker trimming leads to an increased number of thin spines in the layer V of related barrel cortex (Contra) in wild type but not mCREB mice. In the barrel field controlling spared whiskers (Ipsi), the same trimming protocol results in a CREB-dependent enlargement of dendritic spines. Last, we demonstrated that CREB regulates structural rearrangements of synapses that associate with dynamic changes of dendritic spines. Our findings suggest that CREB plays a key role in dendritic spine dynamics and synaptic circuits rearrangements that account for new brain connectivity in response to changes in the environment.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Psychobiology, Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143 Rome, Italy ; "Tor Vergata" University, 00173 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Annabella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pignataro
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cell Biology and Neurobiology (IBCN), National Research Council, 00015 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borreca
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Psychobiology, Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143 Rome, Italy ; Institute of Cell Biology and Neurobiology (IBCN), National Research Council, 00015 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ammassari-Teule
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Psychobiology, Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143 Rome, Italy ; Institute of Cell Biology and Neurobiology (IBCN), National Research Council, 00015 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Middei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D010766:Phosphorylation; D012683:Sensory Deprivation / Q000502:physiology; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein