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Flipping the switch from electrical to chemical communication

Nature Neuroscience volume 8, pages 1633–1634 (2005)Cite this article

Immature neurons in many brain regions are electrically coupled through gap junctions, which are lost as chemical synaptic transmission matures. This developmental uncoupling is now shown to require NMDA receptor activation.

Early in brain development, neurons communicate with one another, even before synapses have formed. At this stage, electrical coupling through gap junctions is widespread and may contribute to neuronal and circuit maturation1. A transition from electrical to chemical synapses has been documented for multiple brain areas, but the cues and mechanisms that mediate the switch have remained elusive. In this issue, Arumugam and colleagues2 provide exciting new insight into the signaling pathways involved in this developmental regulation of gap-junction coupling in hypothalamic neurons.

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Figure 1: NMDA receptor–mediated uncoupling of developing hypothalamic neurons.

Ann Thomson

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Department of Neurobiology and Center for the Neuronal Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 3500 Terrace Street, Pittsburgh, 15261, Pennsylvania, USA

    Karl Kandler & Edda Thiels

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  1. Karl Kandler
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  2. Edda Thiels
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Kandler, K., Thiels, E. Flipping the switch from electrical to chemical communication. Nat Neurosci 8, 1633–1634 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1205-1633

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