Characterization of CPG15 during cortical development and activity dependent plasticity

Regulation of gene transcription by neuronal activity is thought to be key to the translation of sensory experience into long-term changes in synaptic structure and function. Here we show that cgp15, a gene encoding an extracellular signaling molecule that promotes dendritic and axonal growth and synaptic maturation, is regulated in the somatosensory cortex by sensory experience capable of inducing cortical plasticity. Using in situ hybridization, we monitored cgp15 expression in 4-week-old mouse barrel cortex after trimming all whiskers except D1. We found that cpgl5 expression is depressed in the deprived barrels and enhanced in the barrel column corresponding to the spared D1 whisker. Induction of cpgl5 expression is significantly diminished in adolescent as well as adult CREB knockout mice. cgp15 spatio-temporal expression pattern and its regulation by CREB are consistent with a role in experience-dependent plasticity of cortical circuits. Our results suggest that local structural and/or synaptic changes may be a mechanism by which the adult cortex can adapt to peripheral manipulations. The balance between proliferation and apoptosis is critical for proper development of the nervous system.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Harwell, Corey (Corey C.)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Elly Nedivi.

• Brain and Cognitive Sciences.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37964

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/37964