Dopaminergic signaling regulates microglial surveillance and adolescent plasticity in the mouse frontal cortex.

ABSTRACT: Adolescence is a sensitive period for frontal cortical development and cognitive maturation, marked by heightened structural plasticity in the dopaminergic (DA) mesofrontal circuit. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this plasticity remain unclear. Here, we show that microglia, the brain's innate immune cells, are highly responsive to mesofrontal DA signaling during adolescence. Longitudinal in vivo two-photon imaging in mice reveals that frontal cortical microglia increase their surveillance of the parenchyma and DA axonal boutons following rewarding experiences or optogenetic stimulation of DA axons. Microglial contacts with DA axons consistently precede bouton formation, and microglia-bouton interactions are regulated by D1- and D2-type DA receptors in adolescence

SUBMITTER: Stowell R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12381247 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature