164. Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Splice Variants Differentially Impact CA1 and CA3 Dendrite Complexity and Spine Morphology in the Hippocampus

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is an activity-dependent neurotrophin critical for hippocampal plasticity. BDNF encodes multiple transcripts with alternative 5’ untranslated regions (5’UTRS) that display activity-induced targeting to distinct subcellular compartments. While individual Bdnf 5’UTR transcripts influence dendrite morphology in cultured hippocampal neurons, it is unknown whether Bdnf splice variants impact dendrite arborization in functional classes of neurons in the intact hippocampus. Moreover, the contribution of Bdnf 5’UTR splice variants to dendritic spine density and shape has not been explored.