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Removing synaptic brakes on learning

Nature Neuroscience volume 18, pages 1062–1064 (2015)Cite this article

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Imaging experiments in awake mice reveal striking, circuit-specific synaptic structural remodeling of inhibitory axons during learning.

Over the last two decades, neuroscientists have accomplished the remarkable feat of peering directly into the intact mammalian brain to visualize entire neurons and their synapses in their natural environment. By using intravital imaging methods such as two-photon microscopy and fluorescent labeling techniques, it has been possible to follow individual synaptic elements for extended periods of time in vivo, doing so under a variety of conditions that range from sensory experience and behavioral learning manipulations1,2 to different stages of life3,4.

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Figure 1: Schematic of an excitatory layer 2/3 pyramidal neuron (black) contacted by a somatostatin interneuron (SOM-IN, red) on its apical dendrites and a parvalbumin interneuron (PV-IN, blue) on its perisomatic dendrites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Research Council Institute for Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Federico W Grillo, Lucien West & Vincenzo De Paola

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  1. Federico W Grillo
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  2. Lucien West
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  3. Vincenzo De Paola
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Correspondence to Vincenzo De Paola.

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Grillo, F., West, L. & De Paola, V. Removing synaptic brakes on learning. Nat Neurosci 18, 1062–1064 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4073

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