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Updated: May 4, 2026

Inducing Long-Term Plasticity of Intrinsic Neuronal Excitability in Neurons of the Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus
Published on: September 20, 2024
Local plasticity of dendritic excitability can be autonomous of synaptic plasticity and regulated by activity-based
Anna Labno1, Ajithkumar Warrier2, Sheng Wang2
1Nano-scale Science and Engineering Center, Berkeley, California, United States of America ; Biophysics Program, University of California Berkeley, California, United States of America.
Abstract:
While plasticity is typically associated with persistent modifications of synaptic strengths, recent studies indicated that modulations of dendritic excitability may form the other part of the engram and dynamically affect computational processing and output of neuronal circuits. However it remains unknown whether modulation of dendritic excitability is controlled by synaptic changes or whether it can be distinct from them. Here we report the first observation of the induction of a persistent plastic decrease in dendritic excitability decoupled from synaptic stimulation, which is localized and purely activity-based. In rats this local plasticity decrease is conferred by CamKII mediated phosphorylation of A-type potassium channels upon interaction of a back propagating action potential (bAP) with dendritic depolarization.
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