UC San Diego

Recurrent synaptic connections between neighboring neurons are a key feature of mammalian cortex, accounting for the vast majority of cortical inputs. Although computational models indicate that reorganization of recurrent connectivity is a primary driver of experience-dependent cortical tuning, the true biological features of recurrent network plasticity are not well identified. Indeed, whether rewiring of connections between cortical neurons occurs during behavioral training, as is widely predicted, remains unknown. Here, we probe M1 recurrent circuits following motor training in adult male rats and find robust synaptic reorganization among functionally related layer 5 neurons, resulting in a 2.5-fold increase in recurrent connection probability. This reorganization is specific to the neuronal subpopulation most relevant for executing the trained motor skill, and behavioral performance was impaired following targeted molecular inhibition of this subpopulation. In contrast, recurrent connectivity is unaffected among neighboring layer 5 neurons largely unrelated to the trained behavior. Training-related corticospinal cells also express increased excitability following training. These findings establish the presence of selective modifications in recurrent cortical networks in adulthood following training.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Recurrent synaptic connections between neighboring neurons are characteristic of cortical architecture, and modifications to these circuits are thought to underlie in part learning in the adult brain. We now show that there are robust changes in recurrent connections in the rat motor cortex upon training on a novel motor task. Motor training results in a 2.5-fold increase in recurrent connectivity, but only within the neuronal subpopulation most relevant for executing the new motor behavior; recurrent connectivity is unaffected among adjoining neurons that do not execute the trained behavior. These findings demonstrate selective reorganization of recurrent synaptic connections in the adult neocortex following novel motor experience, and illuminate fundamental properties of cortical function and plasticity.