New Molecular ‘Switch’ ID’d that controls Neuron properties in Response Neural Network Changes

Plastic cells: A fast spiking interneuron in the cerebral cortex of the mouse. Image adapted from King’s College London press release.

It implies ‘hardware’ in our brain is tuneable and could have implications that go far beyond basic neuroscience – from informing education policy to developing new therapies for neurological disorders such as epilepsy.

Researchers from the MRC Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, led by Professor Oscar Marín have discovered some neurons in the cerebral cortex can adapt their properties in response to changes in network activity – such as those observed during learning of a motor task. They studied 2 apparently different classes of fast-spiking interneurons, only to discover that they were actually looking at the same piece of ‘hardware’ which had the ability to oscillate between 2 different ground states. The factor responsible for tuning the properties of these cells was found to be transcription factor Er81.

Fast-spiking interneurons are part of a general class of neurons whose primary role is regulating the activity of the principal cells of the cerebral cortex ie pyramidal cells. The cerebral cortex is associated with cognition, language and memory.

‘Our findings explain the underlying mechanisms behind the dynamic regulation of the identity of interneurons’, said Nathalie Dehorter of MRC CDN. ‘Activity plays a prominent role in the specification of neuronal properties, which adapt in response to internal and external influences to encode information.’

Understanding the dynamic mechanisms that lead to the emergence of brain functions through the development and continuous remodelling of neural circuits, and the constraints that disease and aging impose to this multi-modal plasticity has important implications that go beyond fundamental neuroscience, from education policies to brain repair.

Professor Oscar Marín,MRC CDN, said: ‘Our study demonstrates the tremendous plasticity of the brain, and how this relates to fundamental processes such as learning” http://neurosciencenews.com/dynamic-interneruons-cerebral-cortex-2612/