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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Real-time Electrophysiology: Using Closed-loop Protocols to Probe Neuronal Dynamics and Beyond
Published on: June 24, 2015
Running to stand still: ionotropic receptor dynamics at central and peripheral synapses
Emile G Bruneau1, Mohammed Akaaboune
1Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Abstract:
For synapses to form and function, neurotransmitter receptors must be recruited to a location on the postsynaptic cell in direct apposition to presynaptic neurotransmitter release. However, once receptors are inserted into the postsynaptic membrane, they are not fixed in place but are continually exchanged between synaptic and extrasynaptic regions, and they cycle between the surface and intracellular compartments. This article highlights and compares the current knowledge about the dynamics of acetylcholine receptors at the vertebrate peripheral neuromuscular junction and AMPA, N-methyl-D-aspartate, and gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors in central synapses.
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