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Plasticity, synaptic strength, and epilepsy: what can we learn from ultrastructural data?
João Pereira Leite1, Luciano Neder, Gabriel Maisonnave Arisi
1Department of Neurology, University of São Paulo School of Medicine at Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. jpleite@fmrp.usp.br
Epilepsia
|July 1, 2005
Summary
Synapses in the central nervous system change structure during learning and in epilepsy. Ultrastructural studies reveal similar synaptic modifications in long-term potentiation and temporal lobe epilepsy, suggesting a role in disease progression.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Pathology
Background:
- Central nervous system synapses exhibit structural plasticity for adaptation.
- Activity-dependent synaptic refinement is crucial for development and learning.
- Synaptic changes in epilepsy share features with long-term potentiation (LTP).
Purpose of the Study:
- To review ultrastructural consequences of LTP in rodents.
- To examine plastic changes in the hippocampus in epilepsy models and human tissue.
- To correlate synaptic changes with synaptic strength and disease mechanisms.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative ultrastructural studies using serial sectioning and reconstructions.
- Analysis of synaptic changes in rodent models of LTP and epilepsy.
- Examination of human hippocampal tissue from epilepsy surgeries.
Main Results:
- Long-term potentiation (LTP) involves modifications in dendritic spine morphology and postsynaptic densities (PSDs).
- Increased perforated PSDs and multiple spine boutons are observed during hippocampal LTP.
- Epilepsy models and human temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) show similar synaptic remodeling, including aberrant contacts.
Conclusions:
- Synaptic changes observed in LTP are comparable to those in epilepsy.
- Structural remodeling of synapses may enhance synaptic efficiency.
- These synaptic alterations could play a role in epileptogenesis.