Visual Experience-Dependent Expression of Fn14 Is Required for Retinogeniculate Refinement.

ABSTRACT: Sensory experience influences the establishment of neural connectivity through molecular mechanisms that remain unclear. Here, we employ single-nucleus RNA sequencing to investigate the contribution of sensory-driven gene expression to synaptic refinement in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus, a region of the brain that processes visual information. We find that visual experience induces the expression of the cytokine receptor Fn14 in excitatory thalamocortical neurons. By combining electrophysiological and structural techniques, we show that Fn14 is dispensable for early phases of refinement mediated by spontaneous activity but that Fn14 is essential for refinement during a later, experience-dependent period of development. Refinement deficits in mice lacking Fn14 are a

SUBMITTER: Cheadle L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6101651 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature