Evidence for active synapse formation or altered postsynaptic metabolism in visual cortex of rats reared in complex environments

Abstract

Animals placed in complex environments develop greater numbers of visual cortex synapses per neuron than animals housed in standard cages. Increased numbers of synapses could theoretically arise from (i) active formation of new synapses, or (ii) selective stabilization of constitutively produced synapses. The postsynaptic location of polyribosomal aggregates appears to be an indicator of newly forming synapses. In developmental synaptogenesis and adult reactive (to injury) synaptogenesis, polyribosomes are more frequently found at spine synapses and are more likely to appear in the spine head and stem. In the visual cortex of rats from complex environments, there was a greater frequency of spine synapses associated with polyribosomes, relative to rats from individual or group cages. Furthermore, a greater percentage of these spines had polyribosomes in the head and stem region. This suggests that synapses in this region may be actively induced by neural activity arising from the complex environment experience.