Description:
<jats:title>Significance</jats:title>
<jats:p>Identifying new therapies for neurodegenerative disease requires understanding how neurons respond to stress and whether this response includes adaptation to slow progression. Because neurodegeneration affects both axons and dendrites, with their synaptic contacts, adaptation could involve both compartments. We investigated this question in experimental glaucoma, the world’s leading cause of irreversible vision loss. Glaucoma attacks retinal ganglion cell neurons and their axons, which comprise the optic nerve. We found that elevations in ocular pressure, a prominent risk factor for glaucoma, caused a paradoxical increase in ganglion cell excitability, including response to light, even in cells with substantial dendritic pruning. This adaptation arose from voltage-dependent mechanisms in the axon and may help maintain signaling to the brain to preserve vision.</jats:p>