Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6
pubmed:dateCreated
1995-7-24
pubmed:abstractText
Activation of the NMDA subtype of glutamate receptor has been implicated in structural synaptic plasticity in many developing sensory systems. In the frog retinotectal system, chronic exposure of the optic tectum to NMDA, which decreases the effectiveness of NMDA receptors (Debski et al., 1991), results in the pruning of the branches of retinal terminal arbors (Cline and Constantine-Paton, 1990). However, it is difficult from these studies to relate the involvement of NMDA receptors to changes in synapse distribution. In this study, we have developed an EM sampling procedure to quantitatively compare the amount and the distribution of synaptic contact within single retinal arbors. We report that within each retinal arbor, synaptic contact gradually increases from the main branches to the end branches of the arbor. Chronic NMDA treatment, however, significantly reduces the total amount of synaptic contact within each arbor. This reduced synaptic contact appears to be due to the pruning of the end branches, and the synapses these branches bear. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that NMDA receptor is an integral part of the mechanism that stabilizes coactive synapses, and that maintenance of an axonal branch requires a minimum density of synapses that are correlated with converging neighbors.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jun
pubmed:issn
0270-6474
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
15
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
4712-25
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1995
pubmed:articleTitle
Analysis of synaptic distribution within single retinal axonal arbors after chronic NMDA treatment.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.