NEUR 310 Lecture 10: Neuron Target Interactions

• School: McGill University
• Department: Neurology and Neurosurgery
• Course: NEUR 310
• Professor: Jean- Francois Cloutier

Document Summary

Synp & glur1: synp is presynaptic and glur1 is postsynaptic (glutamate receptor, a blowup shows synapses shown by the interactions between synp and glur1. 3 compartments to the synapse: presynaptic bouton, synaptic cleft, post-synaptic reception apparatus, presynaptic boutons are swellings found either along axons or at their tips, they are filled with synaptic vesicles (sv) that contain neurotransmitters. Svs fuse with the presynaptic membrane at specialized sites called presynaptic active zones: these are characterized by sites of electron dense protein that extends from the plasma membrane deep into the presynaptic bouton. The postsynaptic membrane contains a specialization called the postsynaptic density (psd), that is involved in clustering and anchoring postsynaptic receptors and ion channels at high density. The synaptic cleft contains a specialized synaptic extracellular matrix that influences the organization of pre and post-synaptic elements, and regulates synapse function: e. g. Ach esterase and agrin at the nmj: pns synapses contain an obvious synaptic basal lamina, while cns synapses do not.