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Neuroscience

Sculpting neuronal connectivity

Nature volume 503, pages 42–43 (2013)Cite this article

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It emerges that a transcription program differentially regulates inhibitory inputs in distinct neuronal compartments — an unexpected coordinated switch for achieving experience-dependent 'plasticity' in neural circuits. See Letter p.121

Experiences trigger long-lasting changes in memory and behaviour. Although manifested at the organismal level, such changes arise from modifications of individual synaptic connections between neurons. Specifically, new sensory experiences alter a neuron's activity (its output of action potentials) by modulating the strength of the synaptic connections that it receives1. On page 121 of this issue, Bloodgood et al.2 demonstrate that a transcriptional program drives highly localized changes in synaptic connections between neurons. The authors' results thus offer a refined molecular explanation for experience-dependent learning processes.

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Figure 1: Subcellular-specific regulation of neuronal activity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Emily Sylwestrak and Peter Scheiffele are in Biozentrum, University of Basel, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.,

    Emily Sylwestrak & Peter Scheiffele

  2. E.S. is also at F. Hoffmann-La Roche, pRED, Pharma Research and Early Development, DTA Neuroscience, Basel.,

    Emily Sylwestrak

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  1. Emily Sylwestrak
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  2. Peter Scheiffele
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Correspondence to Peter Scheiffele.

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Sylwestrak, E., Scheiffele, P. Sculpting neuronal connectivity. Nature 503, 42–43 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/503042a

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