Page "Barrel cortex" Paragraph 22

# It seems intuitively likely that structural changes at the level of axons, dendrite branches, and dendrite spines underlie some of the long-term plastic changes in the cortex.

Axonal remodelling has been reported in lesion-induced plasticity but not ( until now ) in experience-dependent plasticity, but a recent study by Cheetham et al.

found that whisker trimming produces targeted axonal remodelling in spared cortex.

Dendritic branching is important during prenatal and neonatal development, is involved in plasticity induced by lesions, but is not involved in experience-dependent plasticity.

In vivo two-photon microscopy reveals that dendritic spines in mouse barrel cortex are highly dynamic and subject to continuous turnover, and may be associated with formation or deletion of synapses.

It is likely that spine turnover is necessary but not sufficient to produce experience-dependent plasticity, and other mechanisms such as axonal remodelling are also needed to explain features such as savings from prior experience.