Ablation of oligodendrogenesis in adult mice alters brain microstructure and activity independently of behavioral deficits

Oligodendrocytes continue to differentiate from their precursor cells even in adulthood, a process that can be modulated by neuronal activity and experience. Previous work has indicated that conditional ablation of oligodendrogenesis in adult mice leads to learning and memory deficits in a range of behavioral tasks. The current study replicated and re‐evaluated evidence for a role of oligodendrogenesis in motor learning, using a complex running wheel task. Further, we found that ablating oligodendrogenesis alters brain microstructure (ex vivo MRI) and brain activity (in vivo EEG) independent of experience with the task. This suggests a role for adult oligodendrocyte formation in the maintenance of brain function and indicates that task‐independent changes due to oligodendrogenesis ablation need to be considered when interpreting learning and memory deficits in this model. Main Points Disrupting oligodendrocytes formation in young adults causes a behavioral deficit in the complex wheel task within hours of testing. Reduced oligodendrogenesis also leads to task‐independent alterations in brain microstructure and brain activity