ArticleFrontiers in synaptic neuroscience2014
The BDNF effects on dendritic spines of mature hippocampal neurons depend on neuronal activity.
Article in Frontiers in synaptic neuroscience, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 89 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
89 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 167 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mecasermin for the treatment of Rett Syndrome: a systematic review.Neurogenetics · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of different exercise interventions on executive function in children with autism spectrum disorder: a network meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Neural Stimulation and Molecular Mechanisms of Plasticity and Regeneration: A Review.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2020Pooled it
- Exercise Promotes Neuroplasticity in Both Healthy and Depressed Brains: An fMRI Pilot Study.Neural plasticity · 2017Trial
- Article
- Molecular architects of memory: BDNF/TrkB signaling and trafficking in neuronal plasticity and memory.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Review
- Maternal Infection Induces Neuronal Structure and Behavioural Alterations in Experimental Meningitis Rat Model.Developmental neuroscience · 2026Article
- Multimodal preclinical study of long-term effects of prenatal ultrasound on the mouse central nervous system.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- HIV Infection, Neurotoxicity, Inflammation, Premature Aging, and Therapeutic Challenges to PLWH: An Overview.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Selective recognition memory impairment in mitochondrial hydroxylase Clk1 mutant mice, rescued by antipsychotics.Acta pharmacologica Sinica · 2026Article
- Neuronal Subtype-Specific Expression of γ-Enolase: Its Role in Neuronal Differentiation.Neuromolecular medicine · 2026Article
- The Plasminogen Activation System in the Central Nervous System: Implications for Epilepsy and Neuropsychiatric Disorders.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- A comprehensive review on adaptive plasticity and recovery mechanisms post-acquired brain injury.Neuroprotection (Chichester, England) · 2025Review
- Cannabidiol reverses depression-like behaviors by enhancing hippocampal synaptic plasticity in rats with chronic restraint stress.Veterinary world · 2025Article
- Histological features of the Purkinje neurons of the Albino rat (Anatomy & cell biology · 2025Article
- Deciphering genetic causality between plasma BDNF and 91 circulating inflammatory proteins through bidirectional mendelian randomization.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The dynamic relationship of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and oxytocin: Introducing the concept of neurosocial plasticity.Neuroprotection (Chichester, England) · 2025Review
- BDNF-TrkB Signaling in Mitochondria: Implications for Neurodegenerative Diseases.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- Comparison of Malondialdehyde, Acetylcholinesterase, and Apoptosis-Related Markers in the Cortex and Hippocampus of Cognitively Dysfunctional Mice Induced by Scopolamine.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- The impact of BDNF and CD4 + T cell crosstalk on depression.Immunologic research · 2024Article
29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The fine tuning of neural networks during development and learning relies upon both functional and structural plastic processes. Changes in the number as well as in the size and shape of dendritic spines are associated to long-term activity-dependent synaptic plasticity. However, the molecular mechanisms translating functional into structural changes are still largely unknown. In this context, neurotrophins, like Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), are among promising candidates. Specifically BDNF-TrkB receptor signaling is crucial for activity-dependent strengthening of synapses in different brain regions. BDNF application has been shown to positively modulate dendritic and spine architecture in cortical and hippocampal neurons as well as structural plasticity in vitro. However, a global BDNF deprivation throughout the central nervous system (CNS) resulted in very mild structural alterations of dendritic spines, questioning the relevance of the endogenous BDNF signaling in modulating the development and the mature structure of neurons in vivo. Here we show that a loss-of-function approach, blocking BDNF results in a significant reduction in dendritic spine density, associated with an increase in spine length and a decrease in head width. These changes are associated with a decrease in F-actin levels within spine heads. On the other hand, a gain-of-function approach, applying exogenous BDNF, could not reproduce the increase in spine density or the changes in spine morphology previously described. Taken together, we show here that the effects exerted by BDNF on the dendritic architecture of hippocampal neurons are dependent on the neuron's maturation stage. Indeed, in mature hippocampal neurons in vitro as shown in vivo BDNF is specifically required for the activity-dependent maintenance of the mature spine phenotype.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.