GABA depolarization is required for experience-dependent synapse unsilencing in adult-born neurons.

Neural activity enhances adult neurogenesis, enabling experience to influence the construction of new circuits. GABAA receptor-mediated depolarization of newborn neurons in the adult and developing brain promotes glutamatergic synaptic integration since chronic reduction of GABA depolarization impairs morphological maturation and formation of glutamatergic synapses. Here we demonstrate an acute role of GABA depolarization in glutamatergic synaptic integration.

Dynamic functions of GABA signaling during granule cell maturation.

The dentate gyrus is one of the few areas of the brain where new neurons are generated throughout life. Neural activity influences multiple stages of neurogenesis, thereby allowing experience to regulate the production of new neurons. It is now well established that GABA(A) receptor-mediated signaling plays a pivotal role in mediating activity-dependent regulation of adult neurogenesis.

Microglia shape adult hippocampal neurogenesis through apoptosis-coupled phagocytosis.

In the adult hippocampus, neuroprogenitor cells in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus give rise to newborn neuroblasts. However, only a small subset of these cells integrates into the hippocampal circuitry as mature neurons at the end of a 4 week period. Here, we show that the majority of the newborn cells undergo death by apoptosis in the first 1 to 4 days of their life, during the transition from amplifying neuroprogenitors to neuroblasts.

Input-specific GABAergic signaling to newborn neurons in adult dentate gyrus.

Adult neurogenesis is the multistage process of generating neurons from adult neural stem cells. Accumulating evidence indicates that GABAergic depolarization is an important regulator of this process. Here, we examined GABAergic signaling to newly generated granule cells (GCs) of the adult mouse dentate gyrus.

Adult neurogenesis, mental health, and mental illness: hope or hype?

Psychiatric and neurologic disorders take an enormous toll on society. Alleviating the devastating symptoms and consequences of neuropsychiatric disorders such as addiction, depression, epilepsy, and schizophrenia is a main force driving clinical and basic researchers alike. By elucidating these disease neuromechanisms, researchers hope to better define treatments and preventive therapies.

Seizures accelerate functional integration of adult-generated granule cells.

In humans and experimental animals, structural and functional changes in neural circuits can accompany the development of epilepsy. In the dentate gyrus, seizures enhance adult neurogenesis, but it is unclear to what extent newborn granule cells participate in seizure-induced synaptic reorganization. During the first weeks of their existence, mouse newborn granule cells labeled with enhanced green fluorescent protein have only short dendrites that lack excitatory input.

Delayed development of adult-generated granule cells in dentate gyrus.

A substantial fraction of adult-generated granule cells in the dentate gyrus survive and integrate into the existing neuronal network. These newborn neurons must navigate the environment of the adult brain, a setting that is presumably less optimized for neuronal maturation compared with that in the developing brain. We used EGFP (enhanced green fluorescent protein) expression in newborn granule cells to compare the maturation of adult-generated granule cells to those generated in neonates.

Functional maturation of adult-generated granule cells.

The excitability and connectivity of adult-generated granule cells dictate to what extent newborn neurons participate in the hippocampal network. These functional parameters evolve as newborn cells mature and interact with the existing circuit. The progression of granule cell maturation during neonatal development appears to be reiterated in the adult, but with some caveats.