The adult olfactory bulb is continuously supplied with neuronal precursors that differentiate into granule and periglomerular cells. Little is known about the structural dynamic of adult-born granule cells (GCs) at their different maturational stages, the mechanisms controlling the integration of new neurons into the pre-existing neuronal circuitry, or the role of principal cell activity in these processes. We used two-photon time-lapse imaging to reveal a high level of filopodia formation and retraction on the distal dendrites of adult-born GCs at their early maturational stages. This dynamic decreased as the adult-born interneurons matured. Filopodia formation/retraction on the dendrites of adult-born GCs at the early maturational stages depended on the activation of NMDA receptors (NMDARs). The stimulation of mitral cells using a pattern that mimics activity of these principal neurons to odor presentation promotes the NMDAR-dependent filopodia dynamic of adult-born GCs during their early but not late maturational stages. Moreover, NMDA iontophoresis was sufficient to induce the formation of new filopodia on the distal dendrites of immature adult-born GCs. The maturation of adult-born interneurons was accompanied by a progressive hyperpolarization of the membrane potential and an increased Mg(2+) block of NMDARs. Decreasing the extracellular Mg(2+) concentration led to filopodia formation on the dendrites of mature adult-born GCs following NMDA iontophoresis. Our findings reveal an increased structural dynamic of adult-born GCs during the early stages of their integration into the mouse bulbar circuitry and highlight a critical period during which the principal cells' activity influences filopodia formation/retraction on the dendrites of interneurons.
Keywords: NMDA; adult neurogenesis; granule cells; maturation; olfactory bulb; two-photon imaging.