Reactivation of Ocular Dominance Plasticity in the Adult Visual Cortex

Pizzorusso, Tommaso; Medini, Paolo; Berardi, Nicoletta; Chierzi, Sabrina; Fawcett, James W.; Maffei, Lamberto

doi:10.1126/science.1072699

Cited by 1,490 publications

(1,653 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Evidence suggests that CSPGs are up-regulated within PNNs both near and far from a CNS lesion (Massey et al, 2006). Enzymatic digestion of PNNs by chondroitinase ABC leads to reactivation of plasticity in adult animals (Corvetti and Rossi, 2005;Pizzorusso et al, 2002), and enhances spared fiber collateral sprouting and synapse formation in injured animals (Tropea et al, 2003). Thus reduced Sox9 expression may open a window for increased plasticity following SCI at denervated sites within and remote to the lesion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conditional Sox9 ablation reduces chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan levels and improves motor function following spinal cord injury

McKillop

Dragan

Schedl

et al. 2012

Glia

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Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) found in perineuronal nets and in the glial scar after spinal cord injury have been shown to inhibit axonal growth and plasticity. Since we have previously identified SOX9 as a transcription factor that upregulates the expression of a battery of genes associated with glial scar formation in primary astrocyte cultures, we predicted that conditional Sox9 ablation would result in reduced CSPG expression after spinal cord injury and that this would lead to increased neuroplasticity and improved locomotor recovery. Control and Sox9 conditional knock-out mice were subject to a 70 kdyne contusion spinal cord injury at thoracic level 9. One week after injury, Sox9 conditional knock-out mice expressed reduced levels of CSPG biosynthetic enzymes (Xt-1 and C4st), CSPG core proteins (brevican, neurocan, and aggrecan), collagens 2a1 and 4a1, and Gfap, a marker of astrocyte activation, in the injured spinal cord compared with controls. These changes in gene expression were accompanied by improved hind limb function and locomotor recovery as evaluated by the Basso Mouse Scale (BMS) and rodent activity boxes. Histological assessments confirmed reduced CSPG deposition and collagenous scarring at the lesion of Sox9 conditional knock-out mice, and demonstrated increased neurofilament-positive fibers in the lesion penumbra and increased serotonin immunoreactivity caudal to the site of injury. These results suggest that SOX9 inhibition is a potential strategy for the treatment of SCI.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conditional Sox9 ablation reduces chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan levels and improves motor function following spinal cord injury

McKillop

Dragan

Schedl

et al. 2012

Glia

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“…On the day of surgery, animals were anesthetized with i.p. injection of avertin (0.2 ml per 10 g)/protease-free ChABC (40 U ml À 1 , Seikagaku) was diluted in sterile artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) 6,12 . A volume of 1 ml of solution per site at three sites anterior of the visual cortex was delivered at a depth of 500 mm.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The direct link with plasticity is stressed by the activity-regulated maturation of EM [5][6][7] ending in parallel with the closure of the juvenile critical period of heightened plasticity 6,8 . The relationship between critical period closure and EM is reciprocal, as alterations of the EM structure prolong the critical period 9,10 and plasticity processes can be partially restored in the adult brain by degradation of the EM [11][12][13][14][15] .…”

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confidence: 99%

Extracellular matrix inhibits structural and functional plasticity of dendritic spines in the adult visual cortex

et al. 2013

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Brain cells are immersed in a complex structure forming the extracellular matrix. The composition of the matrix gradually matures during postnatal development, as the brain circuitry reaches its adult form. The fully developed extracellular environment stabilizes neuronal connectivity and decreases cortical plasticity as highlighted by the demonstration that treatments degrading the matrix are able to restore synaptic plasticity in the adult brain. The mechanisms through which the matrix inhibits cortical plasticity are not fully clarified. Here we show that a prominent component of the matrix, chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), restrains morphological changes of dendritic spines in the visual cortex of adult mice. By means of in vivo and in vitro two-photon imaging and electrophysiology, we find that after enzymatic digestion of CSPGs, cortical spines become more motile and express a larger degree of structural and functional plasticity.

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“…Restoration of plasticity in the adult has been often associated with increased levels of neurotrophins and remodelling of extracellular matrix [29][30][31][32] . We tested whether FR affected brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) content in the adult visual cortex by means of immunohistochemistry and western blot.…”

Section: Corticosterone Mimics Fr Effects On Visual Cortex Plasticitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Food restriction enhances visual cortex plasticity in adulthood

Spolidoro¹,

Baroncelli²,

Putignano

et al. 2011

Nat Commun

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neural circuits display a heightened sensitivity to external stimuli during well-established windows in early postnatal life. After the end of these critical periods, brain plasticity dramatically wanes. The visual system is one of the paradigmatic models for studying experiencedependent plasticity. Here we show that food restriction can be used as a strategy to restore plasticity in the adult visual cortex of rats. A short period of food restriction in adulthood is able both to reinstate ocular dominance plasticity and promote recovery from amblyopia. These effects are accompanied by a reduction of intracortical inhibition without modulation of brainderived neurotrophic factor expression or extracellular matrix structure. our results suggest that food restriction could be investigated as a potential way of modulating plasticity.

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Reactivation of Ocular Dominance Plasticity in the Adult Visual Cortex

Cited by 1,490 publications

References 23 publications

Conditional Sox9 ablation reduces chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan levels and improves motor function following spinal cord injury

Conditional Sox9 ablation reduces chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan levels and improves motor function following spinal cord injury

Extracellular matrix inhibits structural and functional plasticity of dendritic spines in the adult visual cortex

Food restriction enhances visual cortex plasticity in adulthood

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