The goal of this proposal is to elucidate the mechanisms of cortical structural plasticity by combining innovative in vivo imaging technology with classical visual manipulations. This integrative approach holds the potential to revolutionize our understanding of adaptive circuit modification, a fundamental aspect of brain function. Our previous findings show that while pyramidal neurons in layer 2/3 (L2/3) of the adult mouse visual cortex show little, if any, change in branch tip length over time, GABAergic non-pyramidal interneurons display significant dendritic branch tip remodelling driven by visual experience in an input and circuit-specific manner. The fact that structural plasticity of interneurons is continuous through adulthood raises the intriguing possibility that local remodelling of inhibitory connections may underlie adult cortical plasticity. Yet, how experience alters inhibitory circuitry is unclear, and how modifications to inhibitory and excitatory circuits are locally coordinated remains unaddressed. Recently, we developed a method for labeling inhibitory synapses in vivo and simultaneously monitored inhibitory synapse and dendritic spine remodeling across the entire dendritic arbor of cortical L2/3 pyramidal neurons in vivo during normal and altered visual experience. We found that the rearrangements of inhibitory synapses and dendritic spines are locally clustered, mainly within 10 m of each other, the spatial range of local intracellular signaling mechanisms, and that this clustering is influenced by experience. However, previous imaging intervals were typically 4 days. Thus, the nature of the coordinated inhibitory and excitatory synaptic dynamics remained temporally unresolved in terms of whether the two events occur simultaneously or one of the two drives the change, while the other adjusts to it. It is also unclear whether synapses that behave in a coordinated manner are ones driven by specific afferent inputs, and how visual experience increases coordination between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic changes. In this proposal we seek to characterize with high temporal resolution the nature of the coordinated insertion and removal of excitatory synapses and neighboring inhibitory synapses in the neocortical circuit. To this purpose we will implement a newly developed three-color labeling system to independently and simultaneously monitor postsynaptic markers representing the full synaptic complement onto individual L2/3 pyramidal neurons in mouse visual cortex. Using spectrally resolved two-photon microscopy we will 1) monitor the temporal sequence of inhibitory and excitatory synapse remodeling in vivo across the full dendritic arbor of L2/3 pyramidal neurons at short time intervals; 2) monitor the effects f experience-dependent plasticity on coordination of inhibitory and excitatory synapse remodeling; 3) examine the specificity of afferent inputs to coordinated excitatory/inhibitory synaptic pairs. Further, 4) we will develop and implement spectrally resolved multifocal multiphoton microscopy to enhance imaging speed and allow interrogation of synaptic dynamics at even shorter time intervals.
It is thought that many neurodevelopmental disorders, including ones that effect visual perception, result from disruption of experience-dependent plasticity leading to deficits in synaptic connectivity, stabilization, or maturation. In this propsal we combine innovative in vivo imaging technology and molecular labeling methods with classical visual manipulations to elucidate how experience can lead to cortical structural plasticity. Characterizing the dynamic potential of cortical neurons, particularly interneurons, wil provide unprecedented insight into mechanisms of experience dependent plasticity, and potential entry points for therapeutic interventions that can compensate for damage at multiple levels of the visual pathway.
| Eavri, Ronen; Shepherd, Jason; Welsh, Christina A et al. (2018) Interneuron Simplification and Loss of Structural Plasticity As Markers of Aging-Related Functional Decline. J Neurosci 38:8421-8432 |
| Boivin, Josiah R; Nedivi, Elly (2018) Functional implications of inhibitory synapse placement on signal processing in pyramidal neuron dendrites. Curr Opin Neurobiol 51:16-22 |
| Berry, Kalen P; Nedivi, Elly (2017) Spine Dynamics: Are They All the Same? Neuron 96:43-55 |
| Berry, Kalen P; Nedivi, Elly (2016) Experience-Dependent Structural Plasticity in the Visual System. Annu Rev Vis Sci 2:17-35 |
| Villa, Katherine L; Berry, Kalen P; Subramanian, Jaichandar et al. (2016) Inhibitory Synapses Are Repeatedly Assembled and Removed at Persistent Sites In Vivo. Neuron 89:756-69 |
