Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 28, Issue 22, Pages 5686-5690Publisher
SOC NEUROSCIENCE
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0584-08.2008
Keywords
dendritic spines; motor cortex; layer 1; learning; LTP; field potentials
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Funding
- NIMH NIH HHS [R21 MH073852, T32 MH019118, R21 MH073852-02, 1R21MH073852-01, MH019118-14] Funding Source: Medline
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Experience-dependent regulation of synaptic strength in the horizontal connections in layer 1 of the primary motor cortex is likely to play an important role in motor learning. Dendritic spines, the primary sites of excitatory synapses in the brain, are known to change shape in response to various experimental stimuli. We used a rat motor learning model to examine connection strength via field recordings in slices and confocal imaging of labeled spines to explore changes induced solely by learning a simple motor task. We report that motor learning increases response size, while transiently occluding long-term potentiation (LTP) and increasing spine width in layer 1. This demonstrates learning-induced changes in behavior, synaptic responses, and structure in the same animal, suggesting that an LTP-like process in the motor cortex mediates the initial learning of a skilled task.
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