Signal-processing machines at the postsynaptic density

Dendrites of individual neurons in the vertebrate central nervous system are contacted by thousands of synaptic terminals relaying information about the environment. The postsynaptic membrane at each synaptic terminal is the first place where information is processed as it converges on the dendrite. At the postsynaptic membrane of excitatory synapses, neurotransmitter receptors are attached to large protein "signaling machines" that delicately regulate the strength of synaptic transmission. These machines are visible in the electron microscope and are called the postsynaptic density. By changing synaptic strength in response to neural activity, the postsynaptic density contributes to information processing and the formation of memories.     

Neuronal diversity and temporal dynamics: the unity of hippocampal circuit operations

In the cerebral cortex, diverse types of neurons form intricate circuits and cooperate in time for the processing and storage of information. Recent advances reveal a spatiotemporal division of labor in cortical circuits, as exemplified in the CA1 hippocampal area. In particular, distinct GABAergic (gamma-aminobutyric acid-releasing) cell types subdivide the surface of pyramidal cells and act in discrete time windows, either on the same or on different subcellular compartments. They also interact with glutamatergic pyramidal cell inputs in a domain-specific manner and support synaptic temporal dynamics, network oscillations, selection of cell assemblies, and the implementation of brain states. The spatiotemporal specializations in cortical circuits reveal that cellular diversity and temporal dynamics coemerged during evolution, providing a basis for cognitive behavior.     

Synapses of horizontal cells in rabbit and cat retinas

Horizontal cells in the retinas of cats and rabbits are morphologically similar; in both species, two types can be distinguished in Golgistained material. Horizontal cells and their processes are readily recognized in electron micrographs, and many of the horizontal cell processes appear to make synaptic contacts with dendrites and somata of bipolar cells, and probably with other horizontal cells. The synapses of the horizontal cell appear similar to chemical synaptic contacts described throughout the nervous system. With the finding of synaptic contacts, it seems clear that retinal horizontal cells should be classified as neurons.     

Control of synaptic strength by glial TNFalpha

Activity-dependent modulation of synaptic efficacy in the brain contributes to neural circuit development and experience-dependent plasticity. Although glia are affected by activity and ensheathe synapses, their influence on synaptic strength has largely been ignored. Here, we show that a protein produced by glia, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), enhances synaptic efficacy by increasing surface expression of AMPA receptors. Preventing the actions of endogenous TNFalpha has the opposite effects. Thus, the continual presence of TNFalpha is required for preservation of synaptic strength at excitatory synapses. Through its effects on AMPA receptor trafficking, TNFalpha may play roles in synaptic plasticity and modulating responses to neural injury.     

近30年铁岭县地表覆盖时空变化特征

地表覆盖变化已成为全球变化研究的核心领域和热点问题之一。以Landsat系列卫星影像为主要数据源,提取铁岭县1990-2020年地表覆盖变化图斑,构建土地利用变化转移矩阵,对铁岭县地表覆盖变化情况进行时空分析,识别土地利用变化热点区域。结果表明：近30年铁岭县地表覆盖面积呈现 “四增两减”特征,其中增加和减少最多的地表覆盖类型分别是建设用地(增加了85.27km2)和林地(减少105.39km2),其他几种类型动态变化不明显。近30年区域地表覆盖类型受人类活动的影响较为明显,对于揭示地表覆盖变化规律和可持续发展具有重要意义。     

A clamping mechanism involved in SNARE-dependent exocytosis

During neurotransmitter release at the synapse, influx of calcium ions stimulates the release of neurotransmitter. However, the mechanism by which synaptic vesicle fusion is coupled to calcium has been unclear, despite the identification of both the core fusion machinery [soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE)] and the principal calcium sensor (synaptotagmin). Here, we describe what may represent a basic principle of the coupling mechanism: a reversible clamping protein (complexin) that can freeze the SNAREpin, an assembled fusion-competent intermediate en route to fusion. When calcium binds to the calcium sensor synaptotagmin, the clamp would then be released. SNARE proteins, and key regulators like synaptotagmin and complexin, can be ectopically expressed on the cell surface. Cells expressing such "flipped" synaptic SNAREs fuse constitutively, but when we coexpressed complexin, fusion was blocked. Adding back calcium triggered fusion from this intermediate in the presence of synaptotagmin.     

Diphasic postsynaptic potential: a chemical synapse capable of mediating conjoint excitation and inhibition

Two identified interneurons in each buccal ganglion of Aplysia can mediate conjoined excitation and inhibition to a single follower cell. A single presynaptic action potential in one of these interneurons produces a diphasic, depolarizing-hyperpolarizing synaptic potential apparently as a result of a single transmitter acting on two types of postsynaptic receptors in the follower cell. These receptors produce synaptic potentials with differing reversal potentials, ionic conductances, time courses, rates of decrement with repetition, pharmacological properties, and functional consequences. The excitatory receptor controls a sodium conductance, the inhibitory receptor controls a chloride conductance. Both components of the synaptic potentials can be produced by iontophoretic application of acetylcholine on the cell body of the follower cell, and each component is differentially sensitive to different cholinergic blocking agents.     

Synaptic adjustment after deafferentation of the superior colliculus of the rat

Eyes were removed from rats shortly after birth, when there are few formed synapses in the colliculus. It was found that synaptogenesis continues to give a near-normal ratio of terminals containing either spheroidal or flattened vesicles. After eye removal in adult rats, however, reinvasion of synaptic sites vacated by degenerate optic terminals occurs, with an incomplete return toward a normal proportion of synaptic types.     

Neural and immunological synaptic relations

A synapse is a stable adhesive junction between two cells across which information is relayed by directed secretion. The nervous system and immune system utilize these specialized cell surface contacts to directly convey and transduce highly controlled secretory signals between their constituent cell populations. Each of these synaptic types is built around a microdomain structure comprising central active zones of exocytosis and endocytosis encircled by adhesion domains. Surface molecules that may be incorporated into and around the active zones contribute to modulation of the functional state of the synapse.     

Acetylcholine and cholinacetylase content of synaptic vesicles

Acetylcholine, cholinacetylase, and acetylcholinesterase were determined in three subfractions that resulted from the osmotic shock of the "mitochondrial" fraction of the rat brain. Acetylcholine and cholinacetylase were found concentrated in the subfraction that contained mainly synaptic vesicles and some membranes, whereas the larger proportion of the acetylcholinesterase was observed in the subfraction that contained torn nerve endings. These results support the idea that synaptic vesicles are the morphological units of acetylcholine within the synapse.     

西藏土壤钾素状况及其影响因素分析

根据西藏 16个土类 138个土壤剖面 4 6 5层土样的分析资料 ,讨论土壤的全钾和速效钾状况及其影响因素。结果表明 :西藏土壤全钾较丰富 ,主要由于成土母质中钾含量较高 ,其主要原因是母质钾的风化淋溶程度低。由于土壤有机质对矿物钾的“稀释效应” ,致使一般土壤 (表层 )全钾低于母质全钾 ;同时在富含钙质的碱性土中 ,CaCO3的聚积对全钾也有一定的“稀释效应”。西藏绝大部分土壤的速效钾处于高供钾水平 ,其含量主要决定于土壤CEC ,进而又主要决定于有机质含量 ,在少部分土壤中也与粘粒含量有关。此外在富含有机质的酸性土中 ,速效钾含量还受盐基饱和度的影响。     

Lactate-supported synaptic function in the rat hippocampal slice preparation

The present study was undertaken to examine the possibility that cerebral energy metabolism can be fueled by lactate. As a sole energy substrate, lactate supported normal synaptic function in rat hippocampal slices for hours without any sign of deterioration. Slices that were synaptically silent as a result of glucose depletion could be reactivated with lactate to show normal synaptic function. When slices were exposed to the glycolytic inhibitor iodoacetic acid, lactate-supported synaptic function was unaffected, whereas that supported by glucose was completely abolished. This indicated that lactate was metabolized directly via pyruvate to enter the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Thus, under conditions that lead to lactate accumulation (cerebral ischemia) this "end product" may be a useful alternative as a substrate for energy metabolism.     

Concanavalin A alters synaptic specificity between cultured Aplysia neurons

Factors that regulate synaptic specificity were investigated with Aplysia buccal and bag cell neurons in primary cell culture. In the presence of fetal calf serum electrical synapses are formed between buccal-buccal or bag-bag cell pairs, but not between buccal-bag cell pairs. Instead, buccal neurons make inhibitory chemical synapses on bag cells. However, in the presence of nanomolar concentrations of the lectin concanavalin A this pattern changes, such that more than 75 percent of buccal-bag pairs exhibit electrical synapses and the frequency of occurrence of buccal-bag chemical synapses is reduced. Such changes in synaptic specificity may be important in determining the types of synapses formed during neuronal development and neurite regeneration.     

Conformational switch of syntaxin-1 controls synaptic vesicle fusion

During synaptic vesicle fusion, the soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor-attachment protein receptor (SNARE) protein syntaxin-1 exhibits two conformations that both bind to Munc18-1: a "closed" conformation outside the SNARE complex and an "open" conformation in the SNARE complex. Although SNARE complexes containing open syntaxin-1 and Munc18-1 are essential for exocytosis, the function of closed syntaxin-1 is unknown. We generated knockin/knockout mice that expressed only open syntaxin-1B. Syntaxin-1B(Open) mice were viable but succumbed to generalized seizures at 2 to 3 months of age. Binding of Munc18-1 to syntaxin-1 was impaired in syntaxin-1B(Open) synapses, and the size of the readily releasable vesicle pool was decreased; however, the rate of synaptic vesicle fusion was dramatically enhanced. Thus, the closed conformation of syntaxin-1 gates the initiation of the synaptic vesicle fusion reaction, which is then mediated by SNARE-complex/Munc18-1 assemblies.     

Electric fields due to synaptic currents sharpen excitatory transmission

The synaptic response waveform, which determines signal integration properties in the brain, depends on the spatiotemporal profile of neurotransmitter in the synaptic cleft. Here, we show that electrophoretic interactions between AMPA receptor-mediated excitatory currents and negatively charged glutamate molecules accelerate the clearance of glutamate from the synaptic cleft, speeding up synaptic responses. This phenomenon is reversed upon depolarization and diminished when intracleft electric fields are weakened through a decrease in the AMPA receptor density. In contrast, the kinetics of receptor-mediated currents evoked by direct application of glutamate are voltage-independent, as are synaptic currents mediated by the electrically neutral neurotransmitter GABA. Voltage-dependent temporal tuning of excitatory synaptic responses may thus contribute to signal integration in neural circuits.     

Differential shunting of EPSPs by action potentials

Neurons encode information and communicate via action potentials, which are generated following the summation of synaptic events. It is commonly assumed that action potentials reset the membrane potential completely, allowing another round of synaptic integration to begin. We show here that the conductances underlying the action potential act instead as a variable reset of synaptic integration. The strength of this reset is cell type-specific and depends on the kinetics, location, and timing of the synaptic input. As a consequence, distal synapses, as well as inputs mediated by N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor activation, can contribute disproportionately to synaptic integration during action potential firing.     

GABAergic神经元在BARREL和VPM区组织结构及形态特点的免疫组织化学研究

[目的]研究GABAergic神经元在VPM和"barrel"区的组织结构及形态特点;[方法]通过免疫组织化学的方法和激光共聚焦电子显微镜研究GABAergic神经元在VPM和"barrel"区分布状态;[结果]GABAergic神经元在VPM和"barrel"区分布状态不同,信息传递这2个区域编码程度也不一样;GABAergic在VPM区主要分布在列与列之间,且呈非对称分布,而GABAergic神经元的胞体、树突和轴突出现限定在"barrel"内,与周围"barrel"很少形成突触联系。[结论]提示VPM和"barrel"可能在信息传递及处理过程中具有不同的功能。     

GABAergic神经元在BARREL和VPM区组织结构及形态特点的研究（英文）

To understand the structure of GABAergic neurons in the VMP and "barrel",the distribution of GABAergic neurons in the two areas were studied through immunohistochemistry and Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope.The results show that the distribution of GABAergic neurons in VMP and barrel are different,and the coding of information transmission in the two areas are also dissimilar;GABAergic neurons mainly distribute among the lines asymmetrically in VMP,the somata,dendrite and axon of GABAergic neurons are restricted in the "barrel",rarely having synaptic connections with other "barrel" around.Therefore,VMP and barrel may have different roles in transmission and on processing of informatiton.     

Equivalent effects of snake PLA2 neurotoxins and lysophospholipid-fatty acid mixtures

Snake presynaptic phospholipase A2 neurotoxins (SPANs) paralyze the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Upon intoxication, the NMJ enlarges and has a reduced content of synaptic vesicles, and primary neuronal cultures show synaptic swelling with surface exposure of the lumenal domain of the synaptic vesicle protein synaptotagmin I. Concomitantly, these neurotoxins induce exocytosis of neurotransmitters. We found that an equimolar mixture of lysophospholipids and fatty acids closely mimics all of the biological effects of SPANs. These results draw attention to the possible role of local lipid changes in synaptic vesicle release and provide new tools for the study of exocytosis.     

Clusters of hyperactive neurons near amyloid plaques in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

The neurodegeneration observed in Alzheimer's disease has been associated with synaptic dismantling and progressive decrease in neuronal activity. We tested this hypothesis in vivo by using two-photon Ca2+ imaging in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Although a decrease in neuronal activity was seen in 29% of layer 2/3 cortical neurons, 21% of neurons displayed an unexpected increase in the frequency of spontaneous Ca2+ transients. These "hyperactive" neurons were found exclusively near the plaques of amyloid beta-depositing mice. The hyperactivity appeared to be due to a relative decrease in synaptic inhibition. Thus, we suggest that a redistribution of synaptic drive between silent and hyperactive neurons, rather than an overall decrease in synaptic activity, provides a mechanism for the disturbed cortical function in Alzheimer's disease.