Reactive Oxygen Species Regulate Activity-Dependent Neuronal Structural Plasticity

Neurons adjust their excitability, connectivity and structure in response to changes in activity, yet how neurons sense their activity level remains unclear. We have found that motorneurons cell-autonomously monitor their activity by responding to the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), a metabolic mitochondrial byproduct. The highly conserved Parkinsons disease-linked protein DJ1b is central to this, acting as a redox sensor to regulate pre- and postsynaptic structural plasticity via activation of the PI3Kinase pathway.