Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 29, 2026

3D Modeling of Dendritic Spines with Synaptic Plasticity
Published on: May 18, 2020
Molecular dynamics of postsynaptic receptors and scaffold proteins
Marianne Renner1, Christian G Specht, Antoine Triller
1Inserm U789, Biologie Cellulaire de la Synapse, ENS, Paris, France.
Abstract:
The activity of neurotransmitter receptors determines the strength of synaptic transmission. Therefore, the clustering of receptors at synapses is an important mechanism underlying synaptic plasticity. The dynamic exchange of receptors between synaptic and extrasynaptic membranes is dependent on their interaction with synaptic scaffold proteins. Here, we review the recent advances and emerging concepts related to the dynamics of synaptic proteins at inhibitory and excitatory synapses. These include the imaging techniques that enable the study of protein dynamics in cells, the differences and similarities of receptor dynamics at excitatory and inhibitory synapses, the relationship between the exchange of receptor and scaffold proteins, as well as the role of receptor fluxes in the modulation of synaptic strength.
Related Concept Videos
Assembly of Signaling Complexes
Interaction domains in cell signaling
Interaction domains recognize exposed features of their binding partners containing post-translationally modified sequences,...
Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration
Assembly of Complex Microtubule Structures
Protein Dynamics in Living Cells
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...
Intracellular Signaling Affects Focal Adhesions
Some...
Protein Diffusion in the Membrane

