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Neurobiology

Synapses unplugged

Nature volume 423, pages 931–932 (2003)Cite this article

At the junctions between two neurons, the machinery that releases neurotransmitter from one cell must lie near calcium channels and align with detectors in the receiving cell. We now have a better idea how this occurs.

The computational power of the brain depends on the precise connections, or synapses, that link together the many billions of nerve cells. On page 939 of this issue, Missler and colleagues1 describe their studies of how the neurexin family of proteins contributes to synapses in vivo. These proteins were believed to help induce synapse formation between neurons in culture dishes — but, as is so often the case, matters have proved rather different in live animals.

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Figure 1: A neurexin-based adhesion complex in synapses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Biology, and of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Picower Center for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139, Massachusetts, USA

    J. Troy Littleton & Morgan Sheng

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  1. J. Troy Littleton
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  2. Morgan Sheng
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Correspondence to J. Troy Littleton or Morgan Sheng.

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Littleton, J., Sheng, M. Synapses unplugged. Nature 423, 931–932 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/423931a

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