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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Jun 1.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2020 Oct 12;21(12):682–694. doi: 10.1038/s41583-020-00379-8

Table 2 |.

Evidence of a requirement for oligodendrocyte and myelin plasticity in learning and memory

Learning paradigm Age Manipulation Behavioural outcome and timeline conclusion Refs
Motor learning (complex wheel with irregularly spaced rungs) P60–90 Conditional Myrf deletion in OPCs, preventing OPC differentiation Impaired running speed on complex wheel (2 h after wheel exposure and throughout 8 days of training) Oligodendrogenesis is required for motor learning 17,38
Motor learning (pull and hold lever) P60 Expression of extra copies of PLP1, producing thinner myelin and abnormal oligodendrocyte processes Impaired success rate (9 days after training and throughout 1 additional week of training) Normal myelin architecture is required for motor learning 46
Spatial learning (water maze) P70–84 Conditional Myrf deletion in OPCs, preventing OPC differentiation Less time spent in platform zone (24 h, 28 days after training) Oligodendrogenesis is required for recent and remote recall but not initial spatial learning 18
Spatial learning (water maze) P120 Conditional Olig2 deletion in OPCs, impairing OPC differentiation Less time spent in platform zone (24 h after training) Oligodendrogenesis is required for recent recall but not initial spatial learning 3
Spatial learning (water maze) P540 Conditional Chrm1 deletion in OPCs, increasing OPC differentiation More time spent in platform zone (24 h after training) Increasing oligodendrogenesis in aged mice improves recent recall without altering initial spatial learning 3
Fear learning (contextual fear conditioning) P56 Conditional Myrf deletion in OPCs, preventing OPC differentiation Less time freezing in conditioned context (30 days after conditioning) Oligodendrogenesis is required for remote recall but not initial fear learning or recent recall 19
Spatial learning (T-maze) P56 Conditional Cdk5 deletion from oligodendrocyte lineage cells, impairing myelination from P14 onwards (possibly earlier) Impaired performance (after 3 h in maze), contextual/cue fear conditioning and rotarod test Normal myelination is required for a wide range of learning and memory tasks 52
Fear learning (passive avoidance and contextual and cued fear conditioning) Impaired performance (after 24 h)
Motor learning (rotarod) Impaired performance (after 3 trials)
Motor learning (rotarod) ‘Adult’; specific age not specified Conditional expression of constitutively active MEK1 in mature oligodendrocytes, increasing myelin thickness in optic nerve, corpus callosum and spinal cord No alteration in 5 days of rotarod test Inducing hypermyelination in existing oligodendrocytes improves recent recall of a contextual fear memory but not motor learning or recent recall of a cue-related fear memory 107
Fear learning (contextual fear conditioning and cued fear conditioning) More freezing in conditioned context but no change in freezing to conditioned cue after 24 h)

This table lists studies demonstrating a requirement for oligodendroglia-related processes in learning and memory but not studies only describing experience-induced or learning-induced oligodendroglial plasticity. OPC, oligodendrocyte precursor cell; P, postnatal day.