Spiny and Non-spiny Parvalbumin-Positive Hippocampal Interneurons Show Different Plastic Properties

Abstract

Summary: Dendritic spines control synaptic transmission and plasticity by augmenting post-synaptic potentials and providing biochemical compartmentalization. In principal cells, spines cover the dendritic tree at high densities, receive the overwhelming majority of excitatory inputs, and undergo experience-dependent structural re-organization. Although GABAergic interneurons have long been considered to be devoid of spines, a number of studies have reported the sparse existence of spines in interneurons. However, little is known about their organization or function at the cellular and network level. Here, we show that a subset of hippocampal parvalbumin-positive interneurons forms numerous dendritic spines with highly variable densities and input-selective organization. These spines form in areas with reduced perineuronal net sheathing, predispose for plastic changes in protein expression, and show input-specific re-organization after behavioral experience. : Dendritic spines on excitatory principal cells are critical sites of learning-induced plasticity. Foggetti et al. report that a subset of parvalbumin-positive interneurons in the dentate gyrus carries high densities of clustered dendritic spines, which predispose for plastic changes in gene expression and affect experience-dependent rewiring. Keywords: dendritic spines, interneurons, plasticity, parvalbumin, perineuronal net, pnn, dentate gyrus, enriched environment, re-wiring, cluster