Spontaneous activity refines neural connectivity prior to the onset of sensory experience, but it remains unclear how such activity instructs axonal connectivity with subcellular precision. We simultaneously measured spontaneous retinal waves and the activity of individual retinocollicular axons and tracked morphological changes in axonal arbors across hours in vivo in neonatal mice. We demonstrate that the correlation of an axon branch’s activity with neighboring axons or postsynaptic neurons predicts whether the branch will be added, stabilized, or eliminated. Desynchronizing individual axons from their local networks, changing the pattern of correlated activity, or blocking N -methyl- d -aspartate receptors all significantly altered single-axon morphology. These observations provide the first direct evidence in vivo that endogenous patterns of correlated neuronal activity instruct fine-scale refinement of axonal processes.

中文翻译：

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通过内源相关自发活动对轴突连接进行赫布指令


自发活动在感觉体验开始之前改善了神经连接，但目前尚不清楚这种活动如何以亚细胞精度指导轴突连接。我们同时测量了新生小鼠体内的自发视网膜电波和单个视网膜丘轴突的活动，并跟踪了体内轴突乔木在数小时内的形态变化。我们证明，轴突分支的活动与邻近轴突或突触后神经元的相关性可以预测该分支是否会被添加、稳定或消除。使单个轴突与其局部网络不同步、改变相关活动的模式或阻断 N-甲基-d-天冬氨酸受体都会显着改变单轴突的形态。这些观察结果提供了第一个体内直接证据，表明相关神经元活动的内源模式指导轴突过程的精细化细化。