Disassembly and Rewiring of a Mature Converging Excitatory Circuit Following Injury

Specificity and timing of synapse disassembly in the CNS is essential to learning how individual circuits react neurodegeneration postsynaptic neuron. In sensory systems such as mammalian retina, synaptic connections second order neurons are known remodel reconnect face cell loss, but whether degenerating third can their local presynaptic connectivity unknown. We injured adult retinal ganglion cells by transiently elevating intraocular pressure. show that loss structures occurs before density proteins accounts for impaired transmission from neurons, despite no evidence axon terminal shrinkage, or reduced functional input. Loss synapses biased among converging neuron types, with preferential major excitatory cone-driven partner, increased rod-driven partners, demonstrating this neural circuit capable structural plasticity while undergoing neurodegeneration.