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Spine motility with synaptic contact

Nature Neuroscience volume 4, pages 685–686 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

Dendritic protrusions, including filopodia and spines, are highly dynamic1,2,3, but the extent to which their motility depends on afferent innervation or synaptic activity is under debate2,3,4,5,6,7,8. By monitoring dendritic spines of labeled Purkinje cells in cerebellar slices by two-photon microscopy, followed by ultrastructural analysis of the same imaged spines, we show that dendritic spines can exhibit morphological rearrangements even when they are contacted by presynaptic terminals.

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Figure 1: Dendritic spines on Purkinje cells in long-term cerebellar slices are motile.
Figure 2: Reconstruction of an imaged dendrite by electron microscopy.
Figure 3: Spine motility and synaptic contact.

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Acknowledgements

We thank G. Dölen and A. Majewska for their assistance. This work was supported by NIH grants NRSA NS10370 (A.D.), RO1 NS16951 (C.A.M.) and RO1 EY13237 (R.Y.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Room 14-509 P&S, 630 W. 168th Street, New York, 10032, New York, USA

    Anna Dunaevsky, Richard Blazeski & Carol Mason

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, 1002 Fairchild, New York, 10027, New York, USA

    Anna Dunaevsky & Rafael Yuste

Authors
  1. Anna Dunaevsky
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  2. Richard Blazeski
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  3. Rafael Yuste
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  4. Carol Mason
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Correspondence to Anna Dunaevsky.

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Dunaevsky, A., Blazeski, R., Yuste, R. et al. Spine motility with synaptic contact. Nat Neurosci 4, 685–686 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/89460

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