The hippocampus makes a significant contribution to experience-dependent neocortical plasticity
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Investigating Long-term Synaptic Plasticity in Interlamellar Hippocampus CA1 by Electrophysiological Field Recording
Published on: August 11, 2019
Rob Sutherland1, Robbin Gibb, Bryan Kolb
1Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1K 3M4. robert.sutherland@uleth.ca
Abstract:
Rats received unilateral hippocampal lesions before being placed in complex environments or standard lab housing. Three months later the brains were prepared for Golgi-Cox staining. Pyramidal cells in layer III of parietal cortex were analyzed bilaterally. The basilar dendrites of the parietal pyramidal cells in the intact hemisphere showed the expected changes in experience-dependent changes, including an increase in dendritic branching and length as well as spine density. In contrast, the basilar dendrites of the parietal neurons in the lesion hemisphere showed no significant effect of experience on dendritic branching or length and showed a decrease in spine density in the same neurons. The apical fields failed to show an effect of experience in either hemisphere. The hippocampus plays a crucial role in neocortical experience-dependent plasticity.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Role of Hippocampus in Memory
Neuroplasticity
Long-term Potentiation
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when presynaptic neurons...
Long-term Potentiation
Plasticity
Olfaction
The olfactory receptors are embedded in the cilia of the...

