synapse

Inactive synapses—found on tiny neuronal projections called filopodia—are abundant in the adult brain, a mouse study suggests.

The Duke University cell biologist uses live-cell microscopy to reveal how brain cells rid themselves of damaged mitochondria and what goes wrong in neurodegenerative disease.

By combining deep learning and electron microscopy, researchers now have a more detailed understanding of how fear changes the brain.

Neuron-like glioblastoma cells are the pioneers of deadly tumors’ spread through the brain, contributing to their devastating invasiveness, a study in mice finds.

So-called mossy fiber synapses in the hippocampus can meter the amount of neurotransmitter they receive by sending glutamate against the usual direction of synaptic flow.

In an unexpected twist in neuroscience dogma, the cells on the receiving end of neurotransmission appear to be able to release glutamate to regulate the transmitting cell’s activity.

The hormone, which is well known for regulating appetite, appears to influence neuronal development—a finding that could shed light on disorders such as autism that involve dysfunctional synapse formation.

A controversial idea from the mid-20th century is attracting renewed attention from researchers developing theories for how cognition arises with or without a brain.

Neural connections in the mouse neocortex can release multiple packages of neurotransmitters per electrical impulse, a study finds.

Synapses in the mouse neocortex can release multiple packages of neurotransmitters, suggesting that connection strength is more flexible than previously thought.

Microglia ingest nerve cell connections, leading to the loss of information stored in neuronal circuits.

Three studies show that tumor cells can behave like neurons.

The method combines two approaches to reveal a high-resolution map of all 40 million synapses.

The brain’s immune cells gobble up synapses in the hippocampi of rodents fed high-fat or high-sugar diets.

The device could one day help enable prosthetics deliver richer touch information to users.

Injecting molecules from a sea slug that received tail shocks into one that didn’t made the recipient animal behave more cautiously. 

The flow of calcium and potassium ions keeps muscles contracting in the diaphragms of neonatal mice, but if a key protein receptor is missing, fatigue sets in more quickly.

A new study reveals more about the role of specialized Schwann cells at junctions between neurons and muscle cells.

In mice and flies, the Arc protein forms capsids and carries genetic information.