Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2026
04:20
Utilizing In Vivo Postnatal Electroporation to Study Cerebellar Granule Neuron Morphology and Synapse Development
Published on: June 9, 2021
The metamorphosis of the developing cerebellar microcircuit
Ingrid van Welie1, Ikuko T Smith, Alanna J Watt
1Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
Current Opinion in Neurobiology
|March 1, 2011
Summary
Developing cerebellar circuits undergo significant restructuring, not just refinement, during early postnatal weeks. Transient synaptic features coordinate network activity to shape the mature cerebellar microcircuit.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Circuitry
Background:
- The cerebellar cortical circuit's organized structure makes it a model for brain development.
- Synaptic connections must form and refine during early postnatal weeks for mature brain function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To discuss evidence suggesting developmental restructuring of cerebellar circuits.
- To explore the role of transient synaptic features in shaping the cerebellar microcircuit.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent evidence on cerebellar development.
- Analysis of synaptic and network changes during postnatal development.
Main Results:
- Developing circuits differ substantially from mature circuits.
- Development involves restructuring of synaptic components and network connections.
- Transient synaptic features may coordinate network activity.
Conclusions:
- Cerebellar development involves metamorphosis-like restructuring.
- Transient synaptic features play a role in shaping the developing cerebellar microcircuit and its network activity.
Related Concept Videos
01:28Major Somatic Sensory Pathways
Sensory impulses related to touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception from various body parts, such as the limbs, trunk, neck, and posterior head, travel to the cerebral cortex through the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway. The pathway’s name derives from the two white-matter tracts that convey the impulses: the spinal cord's posterior column and the brainstem's medial lemniscus. First-order sensory neurons extend their axons into the spinal cord, forming the posterior columns...
01:30Neurulation
Neurulation is the embryological process which forms the precursors of the central nervous system and occurs after gastrulation has established the three primary cell layers of the embryo: ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. In humans, the majority of this system is formed via primary neurulation, in which the central portion of the ectoderm—originally appearing as a flat sheet of cells—folds upwards and inwards, sealing off to form a hollow neural tube. As development proceeds, the anterior...