@article {de la ParraENEURO.0370-17.2018, author = {Juan de la Parra and Mar{\'\i}a I. Cuartero and Alberto P{\'e}rez-Ruiz and Alicia Garc{\'\i}a-Culebras and Ricardo Mart{\'\i}n and Jos{\'e} S{\'a}nchez-Prieto and Juan M. Garc{\'\i}a-Segura and Ignacio Lizasoain and Mar{\'\i}a A. Moro}, title = {AhR Deletion Promotes Aberrant Morphogenesis and Synaptic Activity of Adult-Generated Granule Neurons and Impairs Hippocampus-Dependent Memory}, volume = {5}, number = {4}, elocation-id = {ENEURO.0370-17.2018}, year = {2018}, doi = {10.1523/ENEURO.0370-17.2018}, publisher = {Society for Neuroscience}, abstract = {Newborn granule cells are continuously produced in the subgranular zone of dentate gyrus throughout life. Once these cells mature, they integrate into pre-existing circuits modulating hippocampus-dependent memory. Subsequently, mechanisms controlling generation and maturation of newborn cells are essential for proper hippocampal function. Therefore, we have studied the role of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a ligand-activated bHLH-PAS transcription factor, in hippocampus-dependent memory and granule neuronal morphology and function using genetic loss-of-function approaches based on constitutive and inducible-nestin AhR{\textendash}/{\textendash} mice. The results presented here show that the impaired hippocampus-dependent memory in AhR absence is not due to its effects on neurogenesis but to aberrant dendritic arborization and an increased spine density, albeit with a lower number of mature mushrooms spines in newborn granule cells, a finding that is associated with an immature electrophysiological phenotype. Together, our data strongly suggest that AhR plays a pivotal role in the regulation of hippocampal function, by controlling hippocampal granule neuron morphology and synaptic maturation.}, URL = {https://www.eneuro.org/content/5/4/ENEURO.0370-17.2018}, eprint = {https://www.eneuro.org/content/5/4/ENEURO.0370-17.2018.full.pdf}, journal = {eNeuro} }