Premium
Physiological activity‐dependent ultrastructural plasticity in normal adult rat neuromuscular junctions
Author(s) -
Tomas Josep,
Santafé Manel,
Lanuza Maria A,
FenollBrunet Maria R
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
biology of the cell
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.543
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1768-322X
pISSN - 0248-4900
DOI - 10.1016/s0248-4900(99)80078-1
Subject(s) - postsynaptic potential , biology , neuromuscular junction , ultrastructure , synapse , neuroscience , neurotransmission , anatomy , biophysics , biochemistry , receptor
The major finding of the present study is that the ultrastructural organization of the neuromuscular synapse can be modified by a small, 4‐week‐long, physiological increase in the locomotor activity of the extensor digitorum longus muscle of normal adult rats trained to walk. This study measures these plastic adaptations using several synaptic morphological parameters. The observed changes in neuromuscular junctions affect both pre‐ and postsynaptic membranes. In particular, the presynaptic membrane densities in the active zones and the postsynaptic adaxonal membrane densities become larger, which shows that in the normal adult mammal neuromuscular junction, there is an activity‐dependent modulation of the neurotransmission‐related structures in response to slight physiologic functional demands. The nature and magnitude of these changes are discussed.