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The Journal of Neuroscience, July 11, 2007, 27(28):7553-7558; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1786-07.2007

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Brief Communications
An Early Critical Period for Long-Term Plasticity and Structural Modification of Sensory Synapses in Olfactory Cortex

Cindy Poo and Jeffry S. Isaacson

Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, California 92093

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Jeffry S. Isaacson, Department of Neuroscience, MC 0634, Center for Molecular Genetics, Room 213, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0634. Email: jisaacson{at}ucsd.edu

Critical periods for plasticity of thalamic sensory inputs play an important role in developing neocortical circuits. During an early postnatal time window, pyramidal cells of visual, auditory, and somatosensory cortex undergo structural refinement and possess an enhanced ability for activity-dependent synaptic plasticity. In olfactory cortex, however, pyramidal cells receive direct sensory input from the olfactory bulb, and it is unclear whether the development of olfactory sensory circuits is governed by a critical period. Here, we show that NMDA receptor-dependent long-term potentiation and dendritic spine maturation occur only during a brief postnatal time window at sensory synapses of olfactory cortex pyramidal cells. In contrast, associational synapses onto the same cells retain the capacity for plasticity into adulthood.

Key words: piriform cortex; LTP; spines; LOT; olfaction; development

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Received Feb. 12, 2007; revised June 7, 2007; accepted June 9, 2007.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Jeffry S. Isaacson, Department of Neuroscience, MC 0634, Center for Molecular Genetics, Room 213, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0634. Email: jisaacson{at}ucsd.edu

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