Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 6, 2026

3D Modeling of Dendritic Spines with Synaptic Plasticity
Published on: May 18, 2020
A new 3D mass diffusion-reaction model in the neuromuscular junction
Abdul Khaliq1, Frank Jenkins, Mark DeCoster
1Institute for Micromanufacturing, College of Engineering and Science, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA 71272, USA.
Abstract:
A three-dimensional model of the reaction-diffusion processes of a neurotransmitter and its ligand receptor in a disk shaped volume is proposed which represents the transmission process of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft in the neuromuscular junction. The behavior of the reaction-diffusion system is described by a three-dimensional diffusion equation with nonlinear reaction terms due to the rate processes of acetylcholine with the receptor. A new stable and accurate numerical method is used to solve the equations with Neumann boundaries in cylindrical coordinates. The simulation analysis agrees with experimental measurements of end-plate current, and agrees well with the results of the conformational state of the acetylcholine receptor as a function of time and acetylcholine concentration of earlier investigations with a smaller error compared to experiments. Asymmetric emission of acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft and the subsequent effects on open receptor population is simulated. Sensitivity of the open receptor dynamics to the changes in the diffusion parameters and neuromuscular junction volume is investigated. The effects of anisotropic diffusion and non-symmetric emission of transmitter at the presynaptic membrane is simulated.
More Related Videos
11:07Engineering and Characterization of an Optogenetic Model of the Human Neuromuscular Junction
Published on: April 14, 2022
12:18The Neuromuscular Junction: Measuring Synapse Size, Fragmentation and Changes in Synaptic Protein Density Using Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: December 26, 2014
Related Concept Videos
The Neuromuscular Junction
Neuromuscular Junction And Blockade
Relaxation of Skeletal Muscles
When an action potential reaches the axon terminal, it depolarizes the membrane and opens voltage-gated sodium channels. Sodium ions enter the cell, further depolarizing the presynaptic membrane. This depolarization causes voltage-gated calcium channels to open.
Generation of Action Potential in Skeletal Muscles
Like neurons, muscle cells are also regarded as excitable due to their capacity to change in response to stimuli, primarily due to voltage-gated ion channels embedded in their plasma membranes, which get activated by alterations in the cell's...
Motor Unit Stimulation
The latent period of contraction marks the onset of excitation-contraction coupling, when the action potential propagates across the sarcolemma, preparing the muscle fibers for contraction. As the fibers enter the contraction phase, the...
Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Skeletal Muscles
When an action potential...