Perineuronal Net

Perineuronal Net

Perineuronal nets (PNNs) are specialized extracellular matrix structures responsible for synaptic stabilization in the adult brain. These PNNs are found around certain neuron cell bodies and proximal neurites in the central nervous system. PNNs play a critical role in the closure of critical periods and their digestion allows the reopening of these critical periods in the adult brain. They are largely negatively charged and composed of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, molecules that play a key role in development and plasticity during postnatal development and in the adult.

PNNs appear to be mainly present in the cortex, hippocampus, thalamus, brainstem, and the spinal cord. Studies of the rat brain have shown that the cortex contains high numbers of PNNs in the motor and primary sensory areas and relatively fewer in the association and limbic cortices. In the cortex, PNNs are associated mostly with inhibitory interneurons and are thought to be responsible for maintaining the excitatory/inhibitory balance in the adult brain.