Volume 6 Issue 9, September 2003

After exocytosis, synaptic vesicles must be retrieved and refilled with neurotransmitter to supply the needs of an active neuron. A new report finds that synaptic activity, through the retrograde action of nitric oxide (NO), regulates the rate of this synaptic vesicle recycling. These findings suggest that NOmight enhance the synaptic strength of coincidentally active neurons.

Temporal integration, in which transient inputs shift neurons between stable firing rates, is thought to require neural networks. A new modeling study now proposes that single neurons could perform this calculation via intracellular calcium release dynamics.

Repeated imaging of the same individual neuron for over a year in mice allows the authors of a new study in this issue to show that presynaptic axon terminals become progressively more stable as the animals age, changing little after 6 to 12 months.

The unusual case of a man who regained his sight after 40 years of blindness allows researchers to examine the neural and behavioral effects of losing visual experience on the establishment and maintenance of visual system function in humans.