Increase of vesicular glutamate transporter 2 co-expression in the deep cerebellar nuclei related to skilled reach learning

Abstract

Motor learning induces plasticity in multiple brain regions involving the cerebellum as a crucial player. Synaptic plasticity in the excitatory collaterals to the cerebellar output, the deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN), have recently been shown to be an important part of motor learning. These synapses are composed of climbing fiber (CF) and mossy fiber synapses, with the former conveying unconditioned and the latter conditioned responses in classical conditioning paradigms. The CF synapse on to the cerebellar cortex and the DCN express vesicular transporter 2 (vGluT2), whereas mossy fibers express vGluT1 and /or vGluT2 in their terminals. However, the underlying regulatory mechanism of vGluT expression in the DCN remains unknown. Here we confirm the increase of vGluT2 in a specific part of the DCN during the acquisition of a skilled reaching task in mice. Furthermore, our findings show that this is due to an increase in co-expression of vGluT2 in vGluT1 presynapses instead of the formation of new vGluT2 synapses. Our data indicate that remodeling of synapses - in contrast to synaptogenesis - also plays an important role in motor learning and may explain the presence of both vGluT's in some mossy fiber synapses.

Keywords: 3D reconstruction; Cerebellum; Motor learning; Synapse.