Structure, biophysics, and circuit function of a giant cortical presynaptic terminal

• 成果类型: Review
• 署名作者: Vandael, David; Jonas, Peter
• 署名单位: Institute of Science & Technology - Austria
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-9812
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adg6757
• 发表日期: 2024-03-08
• 关键词: hippocampal mossy fiber; voltage-clamp analysis; dentate granule cells; ca3 pyramidal cells; neurotransmitter release; kainate receptors; ca2+ channels; synaptic-transmission; pattern separation; posttetanic potentiation

摘要

The hippocampal mossy fiber synapse, formed between axons of dentate gyrus granule cells and dendrites of CA3 pyramidal neurons, is a key synapse in the trisynaptic circuitry of the hippocampus. Because of its comparatively large size, this synapse is accessible to direct presynaptic recording, allowing a rigorous investigation of the biophysical mechanisms of synaptic transmission and plasticity. Furthermore, because of its placement in the very center of the hippocampal memory circuit, this synapse seems to be critically involved in several higher network functions, such as learning, memory, pattern separation, and pattern completion. Recent work based on new technologies in both nanoanatomy and nanophysiology, including presynaptic patch-clamp recording, paired recording, super-resolution light microscopy, and freeze-fracture and flash-and-freeze electron microscopy, has provided new insights into the structure, biophysics, and network function of this intriguing synapse. This brings us one step closer to answering a fundamental question in neuroscience: how basic synaptic properties shape higher network computations.