The structural plasticity of dendritic spines is considered to be an important basis of synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory. Here, we induced input-specific structural LTP (sLTP) in single dendritic spines in organotypic hippocampal slices from mice of either sex and performed ultrastructural analyses of the spines using efficient correlative light and electron microscopy. We observed reorganization of the PSD nanostructure, such as perforation and segmentation, at 2–3, 20, and 120 min after sLTP induction. In addition, PSD and nonsynaptic axon–spine interface (nsASI) membrane expanded unevenly during sLTP. Specifically, the PSD area showed a transient increase at 2–3 min after sLTP induction. The PSD growth was to a degree less than spine volume growth at 2–3 min and 20 min after sLTP induction but became similar at 120 min. On the other hand, the nsASI area showed a profound and lasting expansion, to a degree similar to spine volume growth throughout the process. These rapid ultrastructural changes in PSD and surrounding membrane may contribute to rapid electrophysiological plasticity during sLTP.
You may also like
Insulin-like hormones critical for brain plasticity
August 7, 2023Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience
A Butterfly Effect
July 27, 2023Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience
Deep learning models to study sentence comprehension...
June 28, 2023Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics
How the brain slows down when we focus our gaze
June 28, 2023Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics
Fruit fly’s complex symphony of vision
June 6, 2023Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence
How tasty is the food? Ask your brain!
June 6, 2023Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence