Neurosecretion is critically dependent on the assembly of a macromolecular complex between the SNARE proteins syntaxin, SNAP-25 and synaptobrevin. Evidence indicates that the binding of tomosyn to syntaxin and SNAP-25 interferes with this assembly, thereby negatively regulating both synaptic transmission and peptide release. Tomosyn has two conserved domains: an N-terminal encompassing multiple...

Action potential propagation in axons with bifurcations involving short collaterals with synaptic boutons has been simulated using SPICE, a general purpose electrical circuit simulation program. The large electrical load of the boutons may lead to propagation failure at otherwise uncritical geometric ratios. Because the action potential gradually fails while approaching the branch point, the el...

tion, electron-dense “pegs” in the synaptic cleft can be The establishment and maintainance of synaptic asobserved emanating from thickenings of the preand sociations [is] conceived to be regulated by highly postsynaptic membranes. These universal features of specific cytochemical affinities that arise systematithe CNS synaptic junctional complex are indicative of a cally among the different ty...

At presynaptic active zones (AZs), the frequently observed tethering of synaptic vesicles to an electron-dense cytomatrix represents a process of largely unknown functional significance. Here, we identified a hypomorphic allele, brpnude, lacking merely the last 1% of the C-terminal amino acids (17 of 1740) of the active zone protein Bruchpilot. In brpnude, electron-dense bodies were properly sh...

A subset of synaptic vesicles undergoes exocytosis upon Ca 2+ influx into the presynaptic terminal. This group of vesicles constitutes a readily releasable pool (RRP) of ves-icles, which is replenished from a larger reserve pool of vesicles. The RRP is thought to represent the vesicles docked to the nerve terminal membrane at active zones (Fig. 1). During a prolonged depolarizing pulse–mediated...

Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) is a deubiquitinating enzyme that is selectively and abundantly expressed in the brain, and its activity is required for normal synaptic function. Here, we show that UCH-L1 functions in maintaining normal synaptic structure in hippocampal neurons. We found that UCH-L1 activity is rapidly upregulated by NMDA receptor activation, which leads to an increa...

the effect of endogenous serotonin on long-term potentiation (ltp) in region cai was studied by blocking 5-ht2 receptors with ketanserin in rat hippocampal slices. such a block significantly en-hanced long-term potentiation of the cai population spike induced by high frequency stimulation of the schaffer collateral/ commissural pathway. this implies that serotonin acts on 5-ht2 receptors in cai...

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is characterized primarily by the buildup of beta-amyloid plaques and tau proteins. It a very common neurodegenerative disease that marked cognitive decline, neuronal synaptic loss. AD pathology not fully understood there currently no cure. The terminal devastates lives many. Stem cell therapy involves use stem cell’s properties regeneration repair to reverse damage man...

Homeostatic synaptic plasticity is a form of non-Hebbian plasticity that maintains stability of the network and fidelity for information processing in response to prolonged perturbation of network and synaptic activity. Prolonged blockade of synaptic activity decreases resting Ca(2+) levels in neurons, thereby inducing retinoic acid (RA) synthesis and RA-dependent homeostatic synaptic plasticit...

Evidence that synaptic vesicles (SVs) can be gated by a single voltage sensitive calcium channel (CaV2.2) predict a molecular linking mechanism or "tether" (Stanley, 1993). Recent studies have proposed that the SV binds to the distal C-terminal on the CaV2.2 calcium channel (Kaeser et al., 2011; Wong et al., 2013) while genetic analysis proposed a double tether mechanism via RIM: directly to th...