Nigi Elena, Yang Jenq-Wei, Luhmann Heiko J, Sinning Anne
Institute of Physiology, University Medical Center Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Front Cell Neurosci. 2025 Aug 6;19:1648685. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2025.1648685. eCollection 2025.
Neuronal activity in the cerebral cortex comes in surprisingly early and influences or even controls a number of important developmental process like neurogenesis, neuronal migration, myelination, formation of cortical maps and local circuits, and programmed cell death. During the late prenatal and early postnatal period, the neocortical network shows a developmental transition from sparse, synchronized, low activity patterns to continuous, desynchronized, high activity patterns. This developmental sequence has been demonstrated in various neocortical areas of different mammalian species. This review article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the early development of neuronal network activity in the cerebral cortex. We mainly focus on the rodent barrel cortex and a developmental period when the cortex gains mature functional properties at the cellular and network level. After briefly summarizing the developmental processes underlying the construction, reconstruction, and deconstruction of neocortical circuits, we describe the age-dependent changes in spontaneous and sensory driven network activity. Next we discuss the functional role of transient cortical structures and cell types in the generation of early activity patterns and in the activity-dependent maturation of local and large-scale cortical networks. Finally, we present an outlook on the models and techniques to study the cellular and network mechanisms underlying neuronal activity in the developing cerebral cortex.
大脑皮层中的神经元活动出现得惊人地早，并影响甚至控制许多重要的发育过程，如神经发生、神经元迁移、髓鞘形成、皮层图谱和局部回路的形成以及程序性细胞死亡。在产前后期和产后早期，新皮层网络呈现出从稀疏、同步、低活动模式到连续、去同步、高活动模式的发育转变。这种发育序列已在不同哺乳动物物种的各个新皮层区域得到证实。这篇综述文章旨在全面概述大脑皮层中神经网络活动的早期发育。我们主要关注啮齿动物的桶状皮层以及皮层在细胞和网络水平获得成熟功能特性的发育时期。在简要总结新皮层回路构建、重建和解构的发育过程后，我们描述了自发和感觉驱动的网络活动随年龄的变化。接下来，我们讨论瞬时皮层结构和细胞类型在早期活动模式生成以及局部和大规模皮层网络活动依赖性成熟中的功能作用。最后，我们展望了研究发育中大脑皮层神经元活动潜在细胞和网络机制的模型和技术。
