Tonically and phasically active crayfish motor terminals have well-characterized differences in synaptic physiology. During repetitive activation, the tonic terminals show facilitation and no depression, while the phasic terminals show dramatic synaptic fatigue. It has been proposed that this greater capacity for transmitter release from tonic terminals may be largely due to the presence of lar...

We carried out an ultrastructural analysis of axotomized synaptic terminals in Wld(s) and Ube4b/Nmnat (Wld) transgenic mice, in which severed distal axons are protected from Wallerian degeneration. Previous studies have suggested that axotomy in juvenile (< 2 months) Wld mice induced a progressive nerve terminal withdrawal from motor endplates. In this study we confirm that axotomy-induced term...

To gain insight into the role of F-actin in the organization of synaptic vesicles at release sites, we examined the synaptic distribution of F-actin by using a unique synaptic preparation of frog target-deprived nerve terminals. In this preparation, imaging of the synaptic site was unobstructed by the muscle fiber cytoskeleton, allowing for the examination of hundreds of synaptic sites in their...

In this paper, artificial synapses based on four terminal ferroelectric Schottky barrier field effect transistors (FE-SBFETs) are experimentally demonstrated. The polarization switching dynamics gradually modulate the barriers, thus programming device conductance by applying negative or postive pulses to imitate excitation and inhibition behaviors of biological synapse. excitatory post-synaptic...

Retinal terminal profiles in the goldfish optic tectum were identified electron microscopically after (1) labeling with horseradish peroxidase and (2) in the early stages of degeneration in short-term eye enucleates. All labeled terminals shared certain common morphological characteristics which were identical to those of a population of terminals in normal tecta. Terminals of this type disappe...

The cycle of a synaptic vesicle (SV) within the nerve terminal is a step-by-step journey with the final goal of ensuring the proper synaptic strength under changing environmental conditions. The SV cycle is a precisely regulated membrane traffic event in cells and, because of this, a plethora of membrane-bound and cytosolic proteins are devoted to assist SVs in each step of the journey. The cyc...

Inspired by the human brain, a neuromorphic system combining complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) and adjustable synaptic devices may offer new computing paradigms by enabling massive neural-network parallelism. In particular, synaptic devices, which are capable of emulating the functions of biological synapses, are used as the essential building blocks for an information storage and ...

Neuroprotective effect of deprenyl on motoneurons of spinal cord after axotomy of peripheral nerves such as sciatic has been well established. Deprenyl is an inhibitor of monoamine oxidase type-B (MAO-B). The main function of this agent is the release of neurotransmitters from pre-synaptic terminals. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that is synthesized by choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and...