Early Developmental Neuronal Activity Impacts Oligodendrocyte Differentiation Through AMPA Receptors

Developmental myelination requires precisely timed and localized neuron-oligodendrocyte communication. In the mature brain, neuronal activity promotes oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) proliferation and differentiation, but how OPCs respond to neuronal activity in early brain development, before the onset of myelination, is less well characterized.

Here, we investigate how glutamatergic neuronal activity regulates early developmental oligodendrocyte maturation in the olfactory system, somatosensory cortex, and corpus callosum in mice. We find that decreased neuronal activity increases oligodendrocyte differentiation in early development, both in a sensory deprivation model and when using in vivo chemogenetics. Conversely, enhanced neuronal activity in early development reduces oligodendrocyte differentiation.