Training induced dendritic spine density changes are specifically related to memory formation processes in the chick, Gallus domesticus.

The density of dendritic spines on large, multipolar, projection neurons in the intermediate medial hyperstriatum ventrale (IMHV) of 1-day-old chicks was examined after training on a one-trial passive avoidance task. Chicks trained on the task were given a brief, subconvulsive transcranial electroshock 5 min after training, a procedure which rendered about half of them amnesic. The spine density was found to be significantly higher 24-26 h after training in the left IMHV in chicks that remembered the response compared to chicks rendered amnesic. These data, taken together with our earlier observations on spine density changes following training, argue strongly in favour of a specific role for dendritic spines in memory formation in the chick.