PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Kimberly J. Harms
AU  - Mengia S. Rioult-Pedotti
AU  - D. Rosy Carter
AU  - Anna Dunaevsky
TI  - Transient Spine Expansion and Learning-Induced Plasticity in Layer 1 Primary Motor Cortex
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0584-08.2008
DP  - 2008 May 28
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 5686--5690
VI  - 28
IP  - 22
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/28/22/5686.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/28/22/5686.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2008 May 28; 28
AB  - Experience-dependent regulation of synaptic strength in the horizontal connections in layer 1 of the primary motor cortex is likely to play an important role in motor learning. Dendritic spines, the primary sites of excitatory synapses in the brain, are known to change shape in response to various experimental stimuli. We used a rat motor learning model to examine connection strength via field recordings in slices and confocal imaging of labeled spines to explore changes induced solely by learning a simple motor task. We report that motor learning increases response size, while transiently occluding long-term potentiation (LTP) and increasing spine width in layer 1. This demonstrates learning-induced changes in behavior, synaptic responses, and structure in the same animal, suggesting that an LTP-like process in the motor cortex mediates the initial learning of a skilled task.