Dendritic growth and synaptic organization from activity-independent cues and local activity-dependent plasticity
Dendritic branching and synaptic organization shape single-neuron and network computations. How they emerge simultaneously during brain development as neurons become integrated into functional networks is still not mechanistically understood. Here, we propose a mechanistic model in which dendrite gr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2025-02-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/87527 |
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| _version_ | 1832542845576151040 |
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| author | Jan H Kirchner Lucas Euler Ingo Fritz André Ferreira Castro Julijana Gjorgjieva |
| author_facet | Jan H Kirchner Lucas Euler Ingo Fritz André Ferreira Castro Julijana Gjorgjieva |
| author_sort | Jan H Kirchner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Dendritic branching and synaptic organization shape single-neuron and network computations. How they emerge simultaneously during brain development as neurons become integrated into functional networks is still not mechanistically understood. Here, we propose a mechanistic model in which dendrite growth and the organization of synapses arise from the interaction of activity-independent cues from potential synaptic partners and local activity-dependent synaptic plasticity. Consistent with experiments, three phases of dendritic growth – overshoot, pruning, and stabilization – emerge naturally in the model. The model generates stellate-like dendritic morphologies that capture several morphological features of biological neurons under normal and perturbed learning rules, reflecting biological variability. Model-generated dendrites have approximately optimal wiring length consistent with experimental measurements. In addition to establishing dendritic morphologies, activity-dependent plasticity rules organize synapses into spatial clusters according to the correlated activity they experience. We demonstrate that a trade-off between activity-dependent and -independent factors influences dendritic growth and synaptic location throughout development, suggesting that early developmental variability can affect mature morphology and synaptic function. Therefore, a single mechanistic model can capture dendritic growth and account for the synaptic organization of correlated inputs during development. Our work suggests concrete mechanistic components underlying the emergence of dendritic morphologies and synaptic formation and removal in function and dysfunction, and provides experimentally testable predictions for the role of individual components. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b32e329e030249619cf5b180c3b122c3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj-art-b32e329e030249619cf5b180c3b122c32025-02-03T15:56:13ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2025-02-011210.7554/eLife.87527Dendritic growth and synaptic organization from activity-independent cues and local activity-dependent plasticityJan H Kirchner0Lucas Euler1https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2360-8104Ingo Fritz2https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3470-7105André Ferreira Castro3Julijana Gjorgjieva4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7118-4079School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany; Computation in Neural Circuits Group, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, GermanyComputation in Neural Circuits Group, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, GermanySchool of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, GermanySchool of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, GermanySchool of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany; Computation in Neural Circuits Group, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, GermanyDendritic branching and synaptic organization shape single-neuron and network computations. How they emerge simultaneously during brain development as neurons become integrated into functional networks is still not mechanistically understood. Here, we propose a mechanistic model in which dendrite growth and the organization of synapses arise from the interaction of activity-independent cues from potential synaptic partners and local activity-dependent synaptic plasticity. Consistent with experiments, three phases of dendritic growth – overshoot, pruning, and stabilization – emerge naturally in the model. The model generates stellate-like dendritic morphologies that capture several morphological features of biological neurons under normal and perturbed learning rules, reflecting biological variability. Model-generated dendrites have approximately optimal wiring length consistent with experimental measurements. In addition to establishing dendritic morphologies, activity-dependent plasticity rules organize synapses into spatial clusters according to the correlated activity they experience. We demonstrate that a trade-off between activity-dependent and -independent factors influences dendritic growth and synaptic location throughout development, suggesting that early developmental variability can affect mature morphology and synaptic function. Therefore, a single mechanistic model can capture dendritic growth and account for the synaptic organization of correlated inputs during development. Our work suggests concrete mechanistic components underlying the emergence of dendritic morphologies and synaptic formation and removal in function and dysfunction, and provides experimentally testable predictions for the role of individual components.https://elifesciences.org/articles/87527dendritegrowthdevelopmentsynaptic organizationsynaptic plasticity |
| spellingShingle | Jan H Kirchner Lucas Euler Ingo Fritz André Ferreira Castro Julijana Gjorgjieva Dendritic growth and synaptic organization from activity-independent cues and local activity-dependent plasticity eLife dendrite growth development synaptic organization synaptic plasticity |
| title | Dendritic growth and synaptic organization from activity-independent cues and local activity-dependent plasticity |
| title_full | Dendritic growth and synaptic organization from activity-independent cues and local activity-dependent plasticity |
| title_fullStr | Dendritic growth and synaptic organization from activity-independent cues and local activity-dependent plasticity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dendritic growth and synaptic organization from activity-independent cues and local activity-dependent plasticity |
| title_short | Dendritic growth and synaptic organization from activity-independent cues and local activity-dependent plasticity |
| title_sort | dendritic growth and synaptic organization from activity independent cues and local activity dependent plasticity |
| topic | dendrite growth development synaptic organization synaptic plasticity |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/87527 |
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