White matter and myelin plasticity

WHITE matter and Myelin plasticity

White matter plasticity is a recently described mechanism by which experience shapes brain structure and function during adulthood. This phenomenon was first described in adult humans with complex motor skill learning using whole brain non-invasive diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a translational tool in conjunction with established cellular techniques and transgenic models to elucidate the underlying cellular mechanisms of white matter plasticity.

Investigators: Heidi Johansen-Berg, Cassandra Sampaio-Baptista, Alberto Lazari, Florence Heath, Malte Kaller

Collaborators: David Bannerman (Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford), Vlad Vyazovskiy (DPAG, University of Oxford), William Richardson (UCL)

Current Funders: Wellcome Trust

Selected publications:

 Heath, F., Hurley, S. A., Johansen-Berg, H. & Sampaio-Baptista, C. (2017). Advances in noninvasive myelin imaging. Developmental Neurobiology. https://doi.org/10.1002/dneu.22552

Sampaio-Baptista, C. & Johansen-Berg, H. (2017). White Matter Plasticity in the Adult Brain. Neuron, 96(6), 1239–1251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2017.11.026

Clark, A. J., Kaller, M. S., Galino, J., Willison, H. J., Rinaldi, S. & Bennett, D. L. H. (2017). Co-cultures with stem cell-derived human sensory neurons reveal regulators of peripheral myelination. Brain, 140(4), 898–913. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awx012

Kaller, M. S., Lazari, A., Blanco-Duque, C., Sampaio-Baptista, C. & Johansen-Berg, H. (2017). Myelin plasticity and behaviour — connecting the dots. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 47, 86–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2017.09.014

Sampaio-Baptista, C., Khrapitchev, A. A., Foxley, S., Schlagheck, T., Scholz, J., Jbabdi, S., DeLuca, G. C., Miller, K. L., Taylor, A., Thomas, N., Kleim, J., Sibson, N. R., Bannerman, D. & Johansen-Berg, H. (2013). Motor Skill Learning Induces Changes in White Matter Microstructure and Myelination. Journal of Neuroscience, 33(50), 19499–19503. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3048-13.2013

Scholz, J., Klein, M. C., Behrens, T. E. J. & Johansen-Berg, H. (2009). Training induces changes in white-matter architecture. Nature Neuroscience, 12(11), 1370–1371. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2412