image: This is a fluorescence micrograph of several pyramidal neurons (yellow) whose cell bodies are located in layer 5 of mouse visual cortex. Apical dendrites reach all the way to the pial surface, and are studded with spines -- the postsynaptic specialization known to appear or disappear with learning and plasticity. PirB is shown to regulate these specializations. This image relates to a paper that appeared in the Oct. 15, 2014, issue of Science Translational Medicine, published by AAAS. The paper, by Dr. D.N. Bochner at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., and colleagues was titled, 'Blocking PirB up-regulates spines and functional synapses to unlock visual cortical plasticity and facilitate recovery from amblyopia.' view more
Credit: Maja Djurisic and Richie Sapp