Skip to main content

Main menu

  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Information for Authors
    • Fees
    • Journal Clubs
    • eLetters
    • Submit
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
  • SUBSCRIBE

User menu

  • Log out
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Neuroscience
  • Log out
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Neuroscience

Advanced Search

Submit a Manuscript
  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Information for Authors
    • Fees
    • Journal Clubs
    • eLetters
    • Submit
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
  • SUBSCRIBE
PreviousNext
Articles

Properties of "reconstructed" motor synapses of the garter snake

RS Wilkinson and SD Lunin
Journal of Neuroscience 1 May 1994, 14 (5) 3319-3332; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.14-05-03319.1994
RS Wilkinson
Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
SD Lunin
Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

We have developed a technique, called synaptic reconstruction, that permits nerve terminals of living vertebrate neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) to be isolated and then manually recombined with vacant endplate sites to form functional synapses. By reconstructing NMJs with various combinations of pre- and postsynaptic partners, or with varying degrees of pre- to postsynaptic alignment, the functional properties of the three anatomical components of the NMJ--nerve terminal, endplate, and the alignment between them--may be studied independently. Our experiments thus far indicate, surprisingly, that reconstructed NMJs function nearly normally. Thus, one feature of the intact vertebrate NMJ, precise alignment between presynaptic active zones and postsynaptic secondary folds, is either unnecessary for normal function or, alternatively, is spontaneously reestablished when an isolated terminal and vacant endplate site are placed in contact. We have also utilized synaptic reconstruction to examine a recently described property of NMJs: the regulation of quantal size among motor synapses in one muscle so that larger muscle fibers receive larger single quantal currents. Quantal size appears to be a postsynaptic attribute, suggesting that its regulation is achieved by a postsynaptic mechanism.

Back to top

In this issue

The Journal of Neuroscience: 14 (5)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 14, Issue 5
1 May 1994
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
Email

Thank you for sharing this Journal of Neuroscience article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Properties of "reconstructed" motor synapses of the garter snake
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Journal of Neuroscience
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Journal of Neuroscience.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
View Full Page PDF
Citation Tools
Properties of "reconstructed" motor synapses of the garter snake
RS Wilkinson, SD Lunin
Journal of Neuroscience 1 May 1994, 14 (5) 3319-3332; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.14-05-03319.1994

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Respond to this article
Request Permissions
Share
Properties of "reconstructed" motor synapses of the garter snake
RS Wilkinson, SD Lunin
Journal of Neuroscience 1 May 1994, 14 (5) 3319-3332; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.14-05-03319.1994
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Responses to this article

Respond to this article

Jump to comment:

No eLetters have been published for this article.

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

  • Choice Behavior Guided by Learned, But Not Innate, Taste Aversion Recruits the Orbitofrontal Cortex
  • Maturation of Spontaneous Firing Properties after Hearing Onset in Rat Auditory Nerve Fibers: Spontaneous Rates, Refractoriness, and Interfiber Correlations
  • Insulin Treatment Prevents Neuroinflammation and Neuronal Injury with Restored Neurobehavioral Function in Models of HIV/AIDS Neurodegeneration
Show more Articles
  • Home
  • Alerts
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Facebook
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on Twitter
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on LinkedIn
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Youtube
  • Follow our RSS feeds

Content

  • Early Release
  • Current Issue
  • Issue Archive
  • Collections

Information

  • For Authors
  • For Advertisers
  • For the Media
  • For Subscribers

About

  • About the Journal
  • Editorial Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
(JNeurosci logo)
(SfN logo)

Copyright © 2023 by the Society for Neuroscience.
JNeurosci Online ISSN: 1529-2401

The ideas and opinions expressed in JNeurosci do not necessarily reflect those of SfN or the JNeurosci Editorial Board. Publication of an advertisement or other product mention in JNeurosci should not be construed as an endorsement of the manufacturer’s claims. SfN does not assume any responsibility for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from or related to any use of any material contained in JNeurosci.