Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1996 Sep 3;93(18):9887-92.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.93.18.9887.

Induction of myelination in the central nervous system by electrical activity

C Demerens  1 , B Stankoff, M Logak, P Anglade, B Allinquant, F Couraud, B Zalc, C Lubetzki
Affiliations

Induction of myelination in the central nervous system by electrical activity

C Demerens et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

The oligodendrocyte is the myelin-forming cell in the central nervous system. Despite the close interaction between axons and oligodendrocytes, there is little evidence that neurons influence myelinogenesis. On the contrary, newly differentiated oligodendrocytes, which mature in culture in the total absence of neurons, synthesize the myelin-specific constituents of oligodendrocytes differentiated in vivo and even form myelin-like figures. Neuronal electrical activity may be required, however, for the appropriate formation of the myelin sheath. To investigate the role of electrical activity on myelin formation, we have used highly specific neurotoxins, which can either block (tetrodotoxin) or increase (alpha-scorpion toxin) the firing of neurons. We show that myelination can be inhibited by blocking the action potential of neighboring axons or enhanced by increasing their electrical activity, clearly linking neuronal electrical activity to myelinogenesis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Lab Invest. 1981 Dec;45(6):534-46 - PubMed
    1. J Neurosci Res. 1992 Jun;32(2):138-48 - PubMed
    1. J Cell Biol. 1980 Mar;84(3):483-94 - PubMed
    1. Eur J Neurosci. 1992;4(6):554-562 - PubMed
    1. J Neurocytol. 1976 Oct;5(8):565-73 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources

  NODES
Association 1
twitter 2