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Blockade of postsynaptic activity in sleep inhibits developmental plasticity in visual cortex
Marcos G Frank1, Sushil K Jha, Tammi Coleman
1Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. mgf@mail.med.upenn.edu
Neuroreport
|August 26, 2006
Summary
Sleep enhances ocular dominance plasticity, but this effect is reduced by inhibiting neural activity. Postsynaptic activity during sleep is crucial for consolidating experience-dependent cortical plasticity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sleep Science
- Neuroplasticity
Background:
- Sleep enhances ocular dominance plasticity.
- Sleep deprivation and inhibition of neural activity reduce this plasticity.
- The role of specific neural activity during sleep remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of postsynaptic activity in sleep-dependent ocular dominance plasticity.
- To determine if postsynaptic activity is necessary for consolidating experience-dependent plasticity.
Main Methods:
- Reversible inactivation of the sleeping visual cortex using muscimol after monocular deprivation.
- Microelectrode recordings to measure ocular dominance plasticity.
Main Results:
- Ocular dominance plasticity was significantly reduced in cortices silenced during sleep.
- This reduction was compared to cortices treated with a vehicle control.
Conclusions:
- Postsynaptic activity during sleep is essential for the consolidation of experience-dependent cortical plasticity.
- Activity-dependent mechanisms underlie sleep's beneficial effects on neuroplasticity.
