Temporally tuned neuronal differentiation supports the functional remodeling of a neuronal network in Drosophila

摘要

Once a neuronal network is established, it retains a degree of plasticity that allows it to respond to developmental and physiological changes. Here, we describe a mechanism for remodeling a functioning neuronal network. We found that recruitment of neurons to an identified network, at a specific time point, drives a critical shift in the network's behavioral output. However, the neurons are added not by neurogenesis, as would have been anticipated, but from a pool of immature neurons that are triggered to become functionally mature at the time of network remodeling.