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  2. Forelimb Motor Learning and Memory Consolidation Drives Distinct Oligodendrocyte Plasticity to Regulate Task-related Neuronal Activity

Forelimb Motor Learning and Memory Consolidation Drives Distinct Oligodendrocyte Plasticity to Regulate Task-related Neuronal Activity

  • Adv Sci (Weinh). 2025 Sep 30:e05367. doi: 10.1002/advs.202505367.
Shuming Wang 1 Nuo Xu 1 Wenwen Wang 1 Yongxiang He 1 Yuqian Yang 1 Liuning Zhang 1 Yanping Zou 1 Yuehua He 1 Huiliang Li 2 Liang Gao 3 Lin Xiao 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences of Ministry of Education, Institute for Brain Research and Rehabilitation, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, and Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
  • 2 Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
  • 3 Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Manipulation, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
Abstract

Motor learning induces oligodendrocyte (OL) dynamics/plasticity during learning. However, it remains unclear whether different adaptive OL dynamics are required for different phases of motor learning and how they regulate neuronal activity. Here, reduced oligodendrogenesis accompanied is showed by elongated node length in the contra-rostral forelimb area (cRFA) motor cortex during learning of the forelimb reaching task, both of which correlate with the learning performance. However, this is observed that increased oligodendrogenesis during the motor memory consolidation phase, which also correlates with the motor skill maintenance. Strikingly, Myrf conditional knockout (OPC-Myrf-cKO) mice, in which oligodendrogenesis can be artificially blocked, showed improved learning performance along with increased node length and increased task-related neuronal activity in the cRFA when Myrf deletion (i.e., oligodendrogenesis blockade) is introduced prior to learning. However, they showed impaired rehearsal performance accompanied by decreased task-related neuronal activity when gene deletion is induced after learning. These findings suggest that motor learning and consolidation may drive distinct OL plasticity to fine-tune task-related neuronal activity required at different phases.

Keywords

adaptive OL/myelin plasticity; calcium activity; memory consolidation; motor learning; single pellet reaching task.

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