Article
|
Open Access
Featured
-
-
Article |
A cross-species proteomic map reveals neoteny of human synapse development
A study presents a cross-species proteomic map of synapse development in neocortex and reveals that the human postsynaptic density assembly develops two to three times slower than that in macaques and mice.
- Li Wang
- , Kaifang Pang
- & Arnold R. Kriegstein
-
Article |
A discrete neuronal population coordinates brain-wide developmental activity
Developmental activity in transient receptor potential gamma-expressing neurons controls global brain activity and synapse structure in the developing Drosophila brain.
- Bryce T. Bajar
- , Nguyen T. Phi
- & Orkun Akin
-
Article |
Chemico-genetic discovery of astrocytic control of inhibition in vivo
A cell-surface fragment complementation strategy is used to identify the proteome at the junction of astrocytes and synapses in vivo, and shows that NRCAM expressed in astrocytes has a key role in regulating inhibitory synapse function.
- Tetsuya Takano
- , John T. Wallace
- & Scott H. Soderling
-
Article |
Astrocytic neuroligins control astrocyte morphogenesis and synaptogenesis
Astrocyte morphogenesis depends on interactions between astrocytic neuroligins and neuronal neurexins.
- Jeff A. Stogsdill
- , Juan Ramirez
- & Cagla Eroglu
-
Letter |
Adult restoration of Shank3 expression rescues selective autistic-like phenotypes
Re-expression of the Shank3 gene in adult mice results in improvements in synaptic protein composition and spine density in the striatum; Shank3 also rescues autism-like features such as social interaction and grooming behaviour, and the results suggest that aspects of autism spectrum disorders may be reversible in adulthood.
- Yuan Mei
- , Patricia Monteiro
- & Guoping Feng
-
Article |
Schizophrenia risk from complex variation of complement component 4
WebSchizophrenia is associated with genetic variation at the major histocompatibility complex locus; this study reveals that alleles at this locus associate with schizophrenia in proportion to their tendency to generate greater expression of complement component 4 (C4A) genes and that C4 promotes the elimination of synpases.
- Aswin Sekar
- , Allison R. Bialas
- & Steven A. McCarroll
-
Letter |
Sidekick 2 directs formation of a retinal circuit that detects differential motion
The mouse retinal ganglion cell type known as the W3B-RGC, which detects motion of objects against a moving background, is shown to receive strong specific and excitatory input from amacrine cells expressing vesicular glutamine transporter 3; this selective connection is mediated by homophilic interactions of the recognition molecule sidekick 2 (Sdk2), which is expressed on both cells, and disruption of this connection affects object motion detection in W3B-RGCs.
- Arjun Krishnaswamy
- , Masahito Yamagata
- & Joshua R. Sanes
-
Letter |
Spatiotemporal control of a novel synaptic organizer molecule
Neuronal synapses need to be formed at the right time and the right place during nervous system development; here, three gene-regulatory factors (the UNC-30, LIN-14 and UNC-55 DNA-binding proteins) are shown to operate in an intersectional manner to control the expression of a novel synaptic organizer molecule, OIG-1.
- Kelly Howell
- , John G. White
- & Oliver Hobert
-
Letter |
Cntnap4 differentially contributes to GABAergic and dopaminergic synaptic transmission
The molecular relationship between synaptic dysfunction and psychiatric disorders was investigated using a mouse model system; presynaptically localized Cntnap4 is required for the output of two disease-relevant neuronal subpopulations (cortical parvalbumin-positive GABAergic cells and midbrain dopaminergic neurons) and Cntnap4 mutants show behavioural abnormalities which can be pharmacologically reversed.
- T. Karayannis
- , E. Au
- & G. Fishell
-
Article |
Synapse elimination and learning rules co-regulated by MHC class I H2-Db
This study reveals a role for the MHC class I molecule H2-Db in retinogeniculate synapse elimination; expression of this immune system molecule in neurons lacking it is sufficient to rescue proper synapse pruning, as well as the segregation of eye-specific circuits in mice.
- Hanmi Lee
- , Barbara K. Brott
- & Carla J. Shatz
-
Letter |
The emergence of functional microcircuits in visual cortex
A study of mouse visual cortex relating patterns of excitatory synaptic connectivity to visual response properties of neighbouring neurons shows that, after eye opening, local connectivity reorganizes extensively: more connections form selectively between neurons with similar visual responses and connections are eliminated between visually unresponsive neurons, but the overall connectivity rate does not change.
- Ho Ko
- , Lee Cossell
- & Thomas D. Mrsic-Flogel
-
Letter |
Astrocyte glypicans 4 and 6 promote formation of excitatory synapses via GluA1 AMPA receptors
Glypican 4 and glypican 6 are identified as astrocyte-secreted signals that induce the formation of functional, rather than structural, synapses through the recruitment to the neuron surface of the GluA1 subunits of the AMPA glutamate receptor.
- Nicola J. Allen
- , Mariko L. Bennett
- & Ben A. Barres
-
Letter |
Recurrent network activity drives striatal synaptogenesis
Neurotransmitter release and activity are modulated in the striatum of mice to demonstrate that the balance of activity within the two antagonistic, inhibitory pathways co-mingled in this nucleus regulates excitatory innervation of the basal ganglia during development.
- Yevgenia Kozorovitskiy
- , Arpiar Saunders
- & Bernardo L. Sabatini
-
Letter |
Trans-synaptic Teneurin signalling in neuromuscular synapse organization and target choice
Two Drosophila Teneurin proteins, Ten-m and Ten-a, are shown to be required for neuromuscular synapse organization and target selection.
- Timothy J. Mosca
- , Weizhe Hong
- & Liqun Luo
-
Letter |
Fine-tuning of pre-balanced excitation and inhibition during auditory cortical development
To build a representation of the auditory world, neuronal circuits in neonatal rodents exhibit plasticity, allowing sensitivity to the pattern of sensory inputs. At this time, neurons construct a receptive field, which relies on a balance of excitatory and inhibitory inputs. Here, excitation and inhibition were found to be co-tuned upon hearing onset, but later an adjustment in the excitatory input strength occurred. Thus a fine adjustment in synaptic inputs, rather than more radical changes such as input pruning, may refine mature receptive fields.
- Yujiao J. Sun
- , Guangying K. Wu
- & Li I. Zhang
-
Letter |
Developmental sensory experience balances cortical excitation and inhibition
To build a representation of the auditory world, neuronal circuits in neonatal rodents exhibit plasticity, allowing sensitivity to the pattern of sensory inputs. At this time, neurons construct a receptive field, which relies on a balance of excitatory and inhibitory inputs. Here, excitation and inhibition were found to be co-tuned upon hearing onset, but an experience-dependent refinement of inhibition later occurred. Thus a fine adjustment in synaptic inputs, rather than more radical changes such as input pruning, may refine mature receptive fields.
- Anja L. Dorrn
- , Kexin Yuan
- & Robert C. Froemke
-
Letter |
Distinct FGFs promote differentiation of excitatory and inhibitory synapses
Proper functioning of the brain requires a balance between the formation of excitatory and inhibitory synapses, but how this is achieved during development is unclear. Here FGF22 and FGF7, two fibroblast growth factor cell–cell signalling molecules, are shown to promote the formation of excitatory and inhibitory synapses, respectively, through their effect on epilepsy in mice. These findings should inform other neurological and psychiatric disorders involving defects in synapse formation.
- Akiko Terauchi
- , Erin M. Johnson-Venkatesh
- & Hisashi Umemori