Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 26, 2026

The Neuromuscular Junction: Measuring Synapse Size, Fragmentation and Changes in Synaptic Protein Density Using Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: December 26, 2014
Nonextensivity and self-affinity in the mammalian neuromuscular junction
A J da Silva1, R F Lima, M A Moret
1Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, CEP 31270-910 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. adjesbr@gmail.com
Abstract:
We study time series and the spontaneous miniature end-plate potentials (MEPPs) of mammals recorded at neuromuscular junctions using two different approaches: generalized thermostatistics and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). Classical concepts establish that the magnitude of these potentials is characterized by Gaussian statistics and that their intervals are randomly displayed. First we show that MEPP distributions adequately satisfy the q-Gaussian distributions that maximize the Tsallis entropy, indicating their nonextensive and nonequilibrium behavior. We then examine the intervals between the miniature potentials via DFA, where the profile of the intervals between events configures a deviation from the expected random behavior. Some possible physiological substrates for these findings are discussed.
More Related Videos
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...
Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Skeletal Muscles
When an action potential...
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...

