Brief Sensory Deprivation Triggers Cell Type-Specific Structural and Functional Plasticity in Olfactory Bulb Neurons

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• Li Huang, Joseph Innes, Emily Winson-Bushby, University of Cambridge
• Wednesday 28 April 2021, 16:00-17:00
• Zoom.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Katharina Zuhlsdorff.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85395342039

Can alterations in experience trigger different plastic modifications in neuronal structure and function, and if so, how do they integrate at the cellular level? To address this question, we interrogated circuitry in the mouse olfactory bulb responsible for the earliest steps in odor processing. We induced experience-dependent plasticity in mice of either sex by blocking one nostril for one day, a minimally invasive manipulation that leaves the sensory organ undamaged and is akin to the natural transient blockage suffered during common mild rhinal infections. We found that such brief sensory deprivation produced structural and functional plasticity in one highly specialized bulbar cell type: axon-bearing dopaminergic neurons in the glomerular layer. After 24 h naris occlusion, the axon initial segment (AIS) in bulbar dopaminergic neurons became significantly shorter, a structural modification that was also associated with a decrease in intrinsic excitability. These effects were specific to the AIS -positive dopaminergic subpopulation because no experience-dependent alterations in intrinsic excitability were observed in AIS -negative dopaminergic cells. Moreover, 24 h naris occlusion produced no structural changes at the AIS of bulbar excitatory neurons, mitral/tufted and external tufted cells, nor did it alter their intrinsic excitability. By targeting excitability in one specialized dopaminergic subpopulation, experience-dependent plasticity in early olfactory networks might act to fine-tune sensory processing in the face of continually fluctuating inputs.

This talk is part of the CamBRAIN Virtual Journal Club series.

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