Serotonergic stimulation induces nerve growth and promotes visual learning via posterior eye grafts in a vertebrate model of induced sensory plasticity

• Main Authors: Douglas J. Blackiston, Khanh Vien, Michael Levin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2017-03-01
• Series: npj Regenerative Medicine
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41536-017-0012-5

Sensory organs: drug induces nerve growth for ectopic eye transplant A migraine drug that modulates neurotransmitter signaling can boost the neural connections of eyes grafted onto tadpoles to enhance vision. Michael Levin and colleagues from Tufts University in Medford, MA, USA, built on previous work from their lab showing that eyes could be attached along the body axis of blind tadpoles, allowing the developing frogs to distinguish between light and dark. Following the surgery, the researchers have now added the drug zolmitriptan, an activator of serotonin receptors, and the tadpoles formed many more neural connections that sprouted from their ectopic eyes. These animals performed better in visual-learning and pattern-movement tests than control tadpoles that did not get the drug. The findings suggest that drugs used to treat neurological and psychiatric diseases could be repurposed to augment the innervation, integration, and function of organs transplanted in regenerative therapies.