\ ALS Research \ Synapse formation can be triggered artificially
Synapses are essential for neurological function. They not only allow neurons to communicate with each other, but they also enable motor neurons to activate muscle fibers resulting in movement. During development, synapses are formed in excess. Some of these are retained into adulthood, while others are “pruned” to streamline the neuronal circuitry, the electrical wiring of the nervous system.
The results from the McGill study, published in October in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggest that less stringent requirements for synapse formation may ensure that enough synapses are formed during development, and that strengthening of specific synapses through activity could arise at later stages. This, in turn, might imply that new synapses could be induced to form in adulthood if the target for nerve supply expressed specific positively-charged molecules – an exciting prospect for the treatment of diseases such as ALS, which involves a progressive decline in the nerve supply to muscles.
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Synapse formation can be triggered artificially
The formation of synapses – the junctions through which neurotransmitters relay chemical signals allowing neurons to communicate information – typically requires contact between presynaptic and postsynaptic cell membranes. But Anna Lisa Lucido, MSc, and her colleagues at McGill University have shown that certain positively-charged molecules can trigger the assembly of presynaptic boutons – specialized areas at the end of the axon containing neurotransmitter-releasing vesicles – in the absence of natural postsynaptic targets. Assembly of the postsynaptic compartment, however, requires the presence of a true presynaptic bouton.Synapses are essential for neurological function. They not only allow neurons to communicate with each other, but they also enable motor neurons to activate muscle fibers resulting in movement. During development, synapses are formed in excess. Some of these are retained into adulthood, while others are “pruned” to streamline the neuronal circuitry, the electrical wiring of the nervous system.
The results from the McGill study, published in October in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggest that less stringent requirements for synapse formation may ensure that enough synapses are formed during development, and that strengthening of specific synapses through activity could arise at later stages. This, in turn, might imply that new synapses could be induced to form in adulthood if the target for nerve supply expressed specific positively-charged molecules – an exciting prospect for the treatment of diseases such as ALS, which involves a progressive decline in the nerve supply to muscles.
| Posted On: Friday, January 22, 2010 Modified: Friday, January 22, 2010 Category: ALS Research Posted By: |