About this Research Topic
'To our dear friend Matteo Caleo, great explorer of Neural Plasticity, who brought harmony in every tune he studied'
Distinct brain regions subserving major behavioural functions display specific developmental critical periods during which neural plasticity changes with age. In spite of differences in the timeline of developmental trajectories for different brain functions and underlying neural circuits, common basic mechanisms of experience-dependent refinement of neural circuits have emerged.
Here, we seek to deepen our knowledge on how endogenous molecular factors and external stimuli cooperate in the refining of the developing brain and in the reactivation of plasticity during adulthood, an issue that is still matter of debate and has clear therapeutic potential. Many molecules have been demonstrated to play key roles in guiding development and activity dependent remodelling of brain circuitries, some of them appearing to share similar roles in different circuits, with important consequences for strategies of rehabilitation of neurodevelopmental disorders. In the last decade, new studies pointed out novel players, for long time neglected, in the regulation of plasticity in developing neural circuits: miRNA, siRNA, post-translational modifications, receptor subunit variants, small neuropeptides. A comprehensive perspective of the specific roles of these emerging factors is still missing: are they regulated by the same environmental stimuli and do they respond in similar ways to endogenous activity patterns? Do they perform the same or different actions in different cerebral circuits?
The goal of the present Research Topic is to highlight the possible common cellular mechanisms that drive the development and plasticity of different brain areas concentrating on sensory cortices, a well-established model for the study of neural plasticity and developmental critical period determinants, and hippocampus, one of the main network hubs in the brain where sensory information converge and a model for integrated brain function development.
We shall try to pinpoint how key molecules interact with each other and how they cooperate with experience and environmental cues for the refinement of cerebral connections. Since a single molecular factor might play multiple roles in distinct areas upon different conditions, this research topic also aims at exploring the differences that characterize the development of various structures both under physiological and pathological conditions. The Research Topic will bring together animal models and human studies to highlight their different and common features, aiming at obtaining a comprehensive picture.
We welcome submissions of reviews and original research addressing this fundamental biological question from a broad range of perspectives and using several experimental approaches, from molecular and morphological, to imaging, electrophysiological, behavioural, and psychophysical studies.
Distinct brain regions subserving major behavioural functions display specific developmental critical periods during which neural plasticity changes with age. In spite of differences in the timeline of developmental trajectories for different brain functions and underlying neural circuits, common basic mechanisms of experience-dependent refinement of neural circuits have emerged.
Here, we seek to deepen our knowledge on how endogenous molecular factors and external stimuli cooperate in the refining of the developing brain and in the reactivation of plasticity during adulthood, an issue that is still matter of debate and has clear therapeutic potential. Many molecules have been demonstrated to play key roles in guiding development and activity dependent remodelling of brain circuitries, some of them appearing to share similar roles in different circuits, with important consequences for strategies of rehabilitation of neurodevelopmental disorders. In the last decade, new studies pointed out novel players, for long time neglected, in the regulation of plasticity in developing neural circuits: miRNA, siRNA, post-translational modifications, receptor subunit variants, small neuropeptides. A comprehensive perspective of the specific roles of these emerging factors is still missing: are they regulated by the same environmental stimuli and do they respond in similar ways to endogenous activity patterns? Do they perform the same or different actions in different cerebral circuits?
The goal of the present Research Topic is to highlight the possible common cellular mechanisms that drive the development and plasticity of different brain areas concentrating on sensory cortices, a well-established model for the study of neural plasticity and developmental critical period determinants, and hippocampus, one of the main network hubs in the brain where sensory information converge and a model for integrated brain function development.
We shall try to pinpoint how key molecules interact with each other and how they cooperate with experience and environmental cues for the refinement of cerebral connections. Since a single molecular factor might play multiple roles in distinct areas upon different conditions, this research topic also aims at exploring the differences that characterize the development of various structures both under physiological and pathological conditions. The Research Topic will bring together animal models and human studies to highlight their different and common features, aiming at obtaining a comprehensive picture.
We welcome submissions of reviews and original research addressing this fundamental biological question from a broad range of perspectives and using several experimental approaches, from molecular and morphological, to imaging, electrophysiological, behavioural, and psychophysical studies.
Keywords: Neural circuit development and plasticity, Animal models, Humans, Experience, Environment, Neural Plasticity, Sensory Systems, Hippocampus.
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
