The effects of the NMDAR co-agonist d-serine on the structure and function of optic tectal neurons in the developing visual system

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 13383
• Main Authors: Chorghay, Zahraa, Li, Vanessa J., Schohl, Anne, Ghosh, Arna, Ruthazer, Edward S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 17.08.2023; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/1647/245/2186; 631/1647/245/2221; 631/1647/245/2225; 631/378/2571; 631/378/3920; 631/378/548; Agonists; Albinism; Brain architecture; Calcium imaging; Chronic exposure; D-Serine; Females; Frogs; Functional morphology; Glutamate receptors; Glutamatergic transmission; Humanities and Social Sciences; In vitro fertilization; Ligands; multidisciplinary; N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid receptors; Neuroimaging; Neurons; Plasmids; Retina; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Structure-function relationships; Superior colliculus; Synaptic density; Tectum; Topography; Visual pathways; Visual system
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39951-4

The N-methyl- d -aspartate type glutamate receptor (NMDAR) is a molecular coincidence detector which converts correlated patterns of neuronal activity into cues for the structural and functional refinement of developing circuits in the brain. d -serine is an endogenous co-agonist of the NMDAR. We investigated the effects of potent enhancement of NMDAR-mediated currents by chronic administration of saturating levels of d -serine on the developing Xenopus retinotectal circuit. Chronic exposure to the NMDAR co-agonist d -serine resulted in structural and functional changes in the optic tectum. In immature tectal neurons, d -serine administration led to more compact and less dynamic tectal dendritic arbors, and increased synapse density. Calcium imaging to examine retinotopy of tectal neurons revealed that animals raised in d -serine had more compact visual receptive fields. These findings provide insight into how the availability of endogenous NMDAR co-agonists like d -serine at glutamatergic synapses can regulate the refinement of circuits in the developing brain.