To be considered a synapse of the BC-RGC pair, PSD95-YFP puncta had to be localized in regions where the signal of BC axon and RGC dendrite overlapped. All BC-RGC pairs included in our analysis contained voxels of axo-dendritic overlap, but not all pairs were connected by synapses. We found that between P9 and P21, B6 cells nearly doubled their connectivity with G10 RGCs (Figure 1I; P9: 2.7 ± 0.6 synapses/pair, n = 14; P21: 4.9 ± 0.6 synapses/pair, n = 35; p < 0.01). By contrast, B7 axons maintained a relatively constant number of synapses with G10

cells (P9: 3.1 ± 0.7 synapses/pair, n = 9; P21: 2.2 ± 0.7 synapses/pair, n = 13; Selleck SCH772984 p > 0.2), and RBs disconnected from G10 dendrites (P9: 1.4 ± 0.6 synapses/pair, n = 7; P21: 0 ± 0 synapses/pair, n = 14; p < 0.001). Thus, between P9 and P21—i.e., after laminar targeting is apparent—specific patterns of axonal connections emerge among converging

BC inputs by differential formation, maintenance, and elimination of synapses with a shared RGC target. Several cellular mechanisms could account for the divergence of synaptic connectivity between the three BC types examined. The expectation based on observations of synaptic takeover at the NMJ might be that axons which increase their connectivity expand their territory and those that eliminate synapses shrink (Walsh and Lichtman,

2003). Because BC axons connect to several see more overlapping targets, however, they might not change their overall territory but rather realign with each target locally, such that Thymidine kinase axo-dendritic appositions become more frequent for BCs that gain synapses and contact sites are lost for those that eliminate synapses. Alternatively, the frequency with which axo-dendritic appositions bear synapses (i.e., connectivity fraction) could diverge as BC types adjust their connectivity. When we compared the axonal territories of each BC type at P9 and P21, we found that only the arbor size of B7 cells changed significantly (Figures 2A and 2B), the one cell type which maintained constant connectivity with G10 dendrites. To detect local adjustments in axonal and dendritic structure we counted appositions between each BC and RGC in a pair. These optically identified appositions (see Supplemental Information) are not guaranteed to represent contact between the membranes of two cells. However, they do require submicron proximity of processes and can therefore be used to measure the opportunities two cells have to form synapses (Stepanyants et al., 2002). While we observed some changes in the number of appositions between BCs and RGCs, these did not predict the changes in connectivity (Figures 2C and 2D).