Serotonin acts through multiple cellular targets during an olfactory critical period
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Updated: May 5, 2026

A Lateralized Odor Learning Model in Neonatal Rats for Dissecting Neural Circuitry Underpinning Memory Formation
Published on: August 18, 2014
Ahana Mallick1, Hua Leonhard Tan1, Jacob Michael Epstein1
1Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Abstract:
Serotonin (5-HT) modulates early development during critical periods when experience drives heightened levels of plasticity in neurons. Here, we investigate the cellular mechanisms by which 5-HT modulates critical period plasticity (CPP) in the olfactory system of Drosophila. We first demonstrate that 5-HT is necessary for experience-dependent structural plasticity in response to chronic CO2 exposure and can re-open the critical period long after it normally closes. Knocking down 5-HT7 receptors in a subset of GABAergic local interneurons was sufficient to block CPP, as was knocking down GABA receptors expressed by CO2-sensing olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs). Furthermore, direct modulation of OSNs via 5-HT2B receptors in CO2-sensing OSNs and autoreceptor expression by serotonergic neurons was also required for CPP. Thus, 5-HT targets individual neuron types in the olfactory system via distinct receptors to enable sensory driven plasticity.
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