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Neurogenesis in the hippocampus is characterized by the birth of thousand of cells that generate neurons throughout life. The fate of these adult newborn neurons depends on life experiences. In particular, spatial learning promotes the survival and death of new neurons. Whether learning influences the development of the dendritic tree of the surviving neurons (a key parameter for synaptic integration and signal processing) is unknown. Here we show that learning accelerates the maturation of their dendritic trees and their integration into the hippocampal network. We demonstrate that these learning effects on dendritic arbors are homeostatically regulated, persist for several months, and are specific to neurons born during adulthood. Finally, we show that this dendritic shaping depends on the cognitive demand and relies on the activation of NMDA receptors. In the search for the structural changes underlying long-term memory, these findings lead to the conclusion that shaping neo-networks is important in forming spatial memories.

Interactions between separate synaptic inputs converging on the same target appear to contribute to the fine-tuning of information processing in the central nervous system. Intersynaptic crosstalk is made possible by transmitter spillover from the synaptic cleft and its diffusion over a distance to neighboring synapses. This is the case for glutamate, which inhibits γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic transmission in several brain regions through the activation of presynaptic receptors. Such heterosynaptic modulation depends on factors that influence diffusion in the extracellular space (ECS). Because glial cells represent a physical barrier to diffusion and, in addition, are essential for glutamate uptake, we investigated the physiological contribution of the astrocytic environment of neurons to glutamate-mediated intersynaptic communication in the brain. Here we show that the reduced astrocytic coverage of magnocellular neurons occurring in the supraoptic nucleus of lactating rats facilitates diffusion in the ECS, as revealed by tortuosity and volume fraction measurements. Under these conditions, glutamate spillover, monitored through metabotropic glutamate receptor-mediated depression of GABAergic transmission, is greatly enhanced. Conversely, impeding diffusion with dextran largely prevents crosstalk between glutamatergic and GABAergic afferent inputs. Astrocytes, therefore, by hindering diffusion in the ECS, regulate intersynaptic communication between neighboring synapses and, probably, overall volume transmission in the brain.