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Updated: Jun 28, 2025

Author Spotlight: Exploring Glial Influence in Experience-Dependent Synaptic Pruning During Critical Periods
Published on: March 1, 2024
Serotonin acts through multiple cellular targets during an olfactory critical period
Ahana Mallick1, Hua Leonhard Tan1, Jacob Michael Epstein1
1Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Serotonin (5-HT) shapes brain development during critical periods. In fruit flies, 5-HT is essential for experience-dependent changes in the CO2 sensing circuit, impacting olfactory learning and memory.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Sensory Systems
Background:
- Serotonin (5-HT) influences neuronal plasticity during critical developmental periods.
- The fruit fly olfactory system provides a tractable model for studying experience-dependent plasticity.
Conclusions:
- Serotonin signaling through specific receptors (5-HT1B, 5-HT2B, 5-HT7) is vital for experience-dependent plasticity in the Drosophila olfactory system.
- This study elucidates the complex role of 5-HT in shaping neural circuits during critical periods of development and learning.
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