Topic: axonal conduction

Synchronization of neural activity is a fundamental component of information processing in the nervous system. Precise axonal conduction is required for correlated spiking activity between pairs of neurons at the millisecond timescale. Previous studies report that myelin loss results in deficient action potential propagation and a loss of population synchronization in the gamma band. Loss of myelination in demyelinating diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) results in impaired motor function in patients with MS. However, a deeper understanding of how demyelination alters the timing, synchrony

Within the broad theme of brain plasticity, this work explores a dimension that has not received as much research attention thus far - activity dependent changes in myelin. Myelin acts to speed up axonal conduction. Until recently, the dogma of the field was that myelination was part of a developmental program that set up the neural circuitry, after which it remained static; however, the past decade of research has begun to reveal that myelin plasticity continues well into adulthood, is modulated in an activity dependent manner, and contributes to skill learning. The first part of our study is

Oligodendrocytes (OLs) myelinate axons and are essential for fast impulse propagation and the brain’s remarkable processing power. They also carry out important homeostatic support functions that are critical for maintaining long-term neuronal integrity. Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) are implicated in various neurodegenerative diseases and influence cell functions in a cell-specific manner, yet the (patho)physiological impact of oligodendroglial ROS on neural functions remains unknown. To study the impact of oligodendroglial ROS in aging and disease, we generated mice (termed OL-