Adenylate cyclase 1 promotes strengthening and experience-dependent plasticity of whisker relay synapses in the thalamus

Non-technical summary Cyclic AMP-mediated signalling plays an important role in the development and plasticity of synaptic circuits, and adenylate cyclase 1 is a major enzyme for cyclic AMP production in the brain of newborns. We show that in mice deficient in adenylate cyclase 1, developmental strengthening and experience-dependent plasticity of excitatory synapses are impaired, but developmental pruning of the synapses is not affected. These results increase our understanding of the processes by which neuronal circuits are formed and modified during development.