Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2000-8-2
pubmed:abstractText
A growing body of evidence suggests that highly correlated, spontaneous neural activity plays an important role in shaping connections in the developing nervous system prior to the maturation of sensory afferents. In this article we discuss the mechanisms involved in the generation and the regulation of spontaneous activity patterns in the developing retina and the developing neocortex. Spontaneous activity in the developing retina propagates across the ganglion cell layer as waves of action potentials and drives rhythmic increases in intracellular calcium in retinal neurons. Retinal waves are mediated by a combination of chemical synaptic transmission and gap junctions, and the circuitry responsible for generating retinal waves changes with age and between species. In the developing cortex, spontaneous calcium elevations propagate across clusters of cortical neurons called domains. Cortical domains are generated by a regenerative mechanism involving second messenger diffusion through gap junctions and subsequent calcium release from internal stores. The neocortical gap junction system is regulated by glutamate-triggered second messenger systems as well as neuromodulatory transmitters, suggesting extensive interactions between synaptic transmission and information flow through gap junctions. The interaction between gap junctions and chemical synaptic transmission observed in these developing networks represent a powerful mechanism by which activity across large groups of neurons can be correlated.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Apr
pubmed:author
pubmed:volume
32
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
86-114
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-2-26
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2000
pubmed:articleTitle
Neurotransmitters and gap junctions in developing neural circuits.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Review