Article abstract
Nature Neuroscience 11, 901 - 907 (2008)
Published online: 11 July 2008 | Corrected online: 20 July 2008 | doi:10.1038/nn.2156
Neurons born in the adult dentate gyrus form functional synapses with target cells
Nicolas Toni1,4, Diego A Laplagne2,4, Chunmei Zhao1, Gabriela Lombardi2, Charles E Ribak3, Fred H Gage1 & Alejandro F Schinder2
Abstract
Adult neurogenesis occurs in the hippocampus and the olfactory bulb of the mammalian CNS. Recent studies have demonstrated that newborn granule cells of the adult hippocampus are postsynaptic targets of excitatory and inhibitory neurons, but evidence of synapse formation by the axons of these cells is still lacking. By combining retroviral expression of green fluorescent protein in adult-born neurons of the mouse dentate gyrus with immuno-electron microscopy, we found output synapses that were formed by labeled terminals on appropriate target cells in the CA3 area and the hilus. Furthermore, retroviral expression of channelrhodopsin-2 allowed us to light-stimulate newborn granule cells and identify postsynaptic target neurons by whole-cell recordings in acute slices. Our structural and functional evidence indicates that axons of adult-born granule cells establish synapses with hilar interneurons, mossy cells and CA3 pyramidal cells and release glutamate as their main neurotransmitter.
- Laboratory of Genetics, Salk Institute, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
- Laboratory of Neuronal Plasticity, Leloir Institute–CONICET, Av. Patricias Argentinas 435, (1405) Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of California at Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine, California 92697-1275, USA.
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence to: Fred H Gage1 e-mail: gage@salk.edu
Correspondence to: Alejandro F Schinder2 e-mail: aschinder@leloir.org.ar
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