Experience Affects Critical Period Plasticity in the Visual Cortex through an Epigenetic Regulation of Histone Post-Translational Modifications.

Abstract

While it is known that an epigenetic remodeling of chromatin structure controls developmental plasticity in the visual cortex, three main questions have remained open. Which is the physiological time course of histone modifications? Is it possible, by manipulating the chromatin epigenetic state, to modulate plasticity levels during the critical period? How can we regulate histone acetylation in the adult brain in a noninvasive manner? We show that the early exposure of rat pups to enriching environmental conditions accelerates the critical period for plasticity in the primary visual cortex, linking this effect to increased histone acetylation, specifically at the BDNF gene level. Moreover, we report that the exposure of adult animals to environmental enrichment enhances histone acetylation and reopens juvenile-like plasticity.