Age-related dysregulation of homeostatic control in neuronal microcircuits

Neuronal homeostasis prevents hyperactivity and hypoactivity. Age-related hyperactivity suggests homeostasis may be dysregulated in later life. However, plasticity mechanisms preventing age-related hyperactivity and their efficacy in later life are unclear. We identify the adult cortical plasticity response to elevated activity driven by sensory overstimulation, then test how plasticity changes with age. We use in vivo two-photon imaging of calcium-mediated cellular/synaptic activity, electrophysiology and c-Fos-activity tagging to show control of neuronal activity is dysregulated in the visual cortex in late adulthood. Specifically, in young adult cortex, mGluR5-dependent population-wide excitatory synaptic weakening and inhibitory synaptogenesis reduce cortical activity following overstimulation. In later life, these mechanisms are downregulated, so that overstimulation results in synaptic strengthening and elevated activity. We also find overstimulation disrupts cognition in older but not younger animals. We propose that specific plasticity mechanisms fail in later life dysregulating neuronal microcircuit homeostasis and that the age-related response to overstimulation can impact cognitive performance. Radulescu et al. show that homeostatic mechanisms that reduce cortical activity following overstimulation are dysregulated later in life, such that overstimulation results in synaptic strengthening, elevated activity and cognitive impairment.