Skip Navigation


Cerebral Cortex Advance Access originally published online on September 15, 2004
Cerebral Cortex 2005 15(6):802-808; doi:10.1093/cercor/bhh181
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
15/6/802    most recent
bhh181v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (19)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bock, J.
Right arrow Articles by Braun, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bock, J.
Right arrow Articles by Braun, K.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Cerebral Cortex V 15 N 6 © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved

Experience-induced Changes of Dendritic Spine Densities in the Prefrontal and Sensory Cortex: Correlation with Developmental Time Windows

Jörg Bock, Michael Gruss, Susann Becker and Katharina Braun

Institute of Biology, Department of Zoology and Developmental Neurobiology, Otto von Guericke Unversity, Brenneckestr. 6, 39118 Magdeburg Germany

Address correspondence to Dr Jörg Bock, Institute of Biology, Department of Zoology and Developmental Neurobiology, Otto von Guericke Unversity, Brenneckestr. 6, 39118 Magdeburg Germany. Email: joerg.bock{at}nat.uni-magdeburg.de.

The present study provides evidence for the hypothesis that the extent and the direction of experience-induced synaptic changes in cortical areas correlates with time windows of neuronal as well as endocrine development. Repeated brief exposure to maternal separation prior to the stress hyporesponsive period (SHRP) of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis induced significantly reduced dendritic spine density (–16%) in layer II/III pyramidal neurons of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACd) of 21-day-old rats, whereas separation after termination of the SHRP resulted in increased spine densities (+16%) in this neuron type. In addition, rats of both groups displayed elevated basal plasma levels of corticosterone at this age. Separation during the SHRP (postnatal days 5–7) did not influence spine density in the ACd, and basal corticosterone levels remained unchanged. In contrast, pyramidal neurons in the somatosensory cortex (SSC) displayed significantly enhanced spine densities (up to 52% increase) independent from the time of separation. These results indicate that alterations in the synaptic balance in limbic and sensory cortical regions in response to early emotional experience are region-specific and related to the maturational stage of endocrine and neuronal systems.

Key Words: development • endocrine systems • limbic • prefrontal • stress


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
N. M. Goodfellow, M. Benekareddy, V. A. Vaidya, and E. K. Lambe
Layer II/III of the Prefrontal Cortex: Inhibition by the Serotonin 5-HT1A Receptor in Development and Stress
J. Neurosci., August 12, 2009; 29(32): 10094 - 10103.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
Y. Kawaguchi, F. Karube, and Y. Kubota
Dendritic Branch Typing and Spine Expression Patterns in Cortical Nonpyramidal Cells
Cereb Cortex, May 1, 2006; 16(5): 696 - 711.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.