Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Neurochemical Transmission: Sites of Drug Action01:26

Neurochemical Transmission: Sites of Drug Action

Neurochemical transmission, the conduction of electrical impulses between neurons mediated by neurotransmitters, plays a vital role in various physiological processes. Autonomic drugs exert their effects by modulating neurotransmission within the autonomic nervous system. For instance, drugs such as hemicholinium block the precursor uptake necessary for synthesizing acetylcholine, an essential autonomic neurotransmitter. Following synthesis, neurotransmitters are stored in vesicles. Metyrosine...
Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters01:29

Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters

When an action potential reaches the presynaptic axon terminal, it releases neurotransmitters from the neuron into the synaptic cleft at a chemical synapse. The released neurotransmitter can be excitatory or inhibitory. The critical criteria commonly used to determine whether a molecule is a neurotransmitter at a chemical synapse are the molecule's presence in the presynaptic neuron. Second, its release is in response to strong presynaptic depolarization. And lastly, the presence of specific...
Drugs Affecting Neurotransmitter Release or Uptake01:21

Drugs Affecting Neurotransmitter Release or Uptake

Certain drugs can affect how neurotransmitters called catecholamines, are released or taken back up in the adrenergic neuron. They can have different effects on the body's sympathetic transmission. Reserpine, a natural compound found in the Rauwolfia shrub, blocks a transporter called vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT), which leads to a buildup of catecholamines in the cell and reduces sympathetic transmission. Another drug called guanethidine works in multiple ways, including blocking...
Classification of Neurotransmitters01:30

Classification of Neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters play a crucial role in the communication between neurons in the autonomic nervous system. Neurons in the autonomic nervous system can be cholinergic or adrenergic depending on the neurotransmitters synthesized. Cholinergic neurons use acetylcholine as their primary neurotransmitter. This includes all the preganglionic fibers of the sympathetic and pre- and postganglionic fibers of the parasympathetic nervous systems. In addition, neurons of the somatic nervous system also use...
Chemical Synapses01:26

Chemical Synapses

Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory cell.
Because chemical synapses depend on the release of neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic vesicles to pass on their signal, there is an approximately one millisecond delay between when the axon potential reaches the presynaptic terminal and when the neurotransmitter leads to opening of postsynaptic ion channels. Additionally, this signaling is...
Chemical Synapses01:26

Chemical Synapses

Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory cell.
Because chemical synapses depend on the release of neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic vesicles to pass on their signal, there is an approximately one millisecond delay between when the axon potential reaches the presynaptic terminal and when the neurotransmitter leads to opening of postsynaptic ion channels. Additionally, this signaling is...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

A Novel Relationship between Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone Level and High-Altitude Hypoxia in Human and Rat Model.

Neuroendocrinology·2025
Same author

Hormone-switching islet cells: parallels to transmitter-switching neurons.

Frontiers in cell and developmental biology·2025
Same author

Drugs of abuse drive neurotransmitter plasticity that alters behavior: implications for mental health.

Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience·2025
Same author

Lynn T. Landmesser (1943-2024).

Nature neuroscience·2025
Same author

How the brain produces generalized fear.

Clinical and translational medicine·2025
Same author

Drug-induced change in transmitter identity is a shared mechanism generating cognitive deficits.

Nature communications·2024
Same journal

Brain-spleen axis regulates learned fear.

Nature reviews. Neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Acetylcholine: a candidate substrate for hippocampal predictive learning?

Nature reviews. Neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Astrocytes viewed through the lens of their proteomes and subproteomes.

Nature reviews. Neuroscience·2026
Same journal

m<sup>6</sup>A in RNA: a key regulator of brain development, function and disease.

Nature reviews. Neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Non-invasive deep-brain neuromodulation by transcranial radio frequency stimulation.

Nature reviews. Neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Heading into the wild: setting the course to natural neuroscience.

Nature reviews. Neuroscience·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 25, 2026

A High-content Assay for Monitoring AMPA Receptor Trafficking
10:34

A High-content Assay for Monitoring AMPA Receptor Trafficking

Published on: January 28, 2019

Activity-dependent neurotransmitter respecification.

Nicholas C Spitzer1

  • 1Neurobiology Section, Division of Biological Sciences, Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. nspitzer@ucsd.edu

Nature Reviews. Neuroscience
|January 19, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Neurons can change their neurotransmitters based on electrical activity, a process called activity-dependent transmitter respecification. This neural plasticity, involving receptor changes, impacts synaptic regulation and behavior, potentially offering clinical benefits.

More Related Videos

Using an &#945;-Bungarotoxin Binding Site Tag to Study GABA A Receptor Membrane Localization and Trafficking
11:57

Using an α-Bungarotoxin Binding Site Tag to Study GABA A Receptor Membrane Localization and Trafficking

Published on: March 28, 2014

A Plate-Based Assay for the Measurement of Endogenous Monoamine Release in Acute Brain Slices
07:56

A Plate-Based Assay for the Measurement of Endogenous Monoamine Release in Acute Brain Slices

Published on: August 11, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 25, 2026

A High-content Assay for Monitoring AMPA Receptor Trafficking
10:34

A High-content Assay for Monitoring AMPA Receptor Trafficking

Published on: January 28, 2019

Using an &#945;-Bungarotoxin Binding Site Tag to Study GABA A Receptor Membrane Localization and Trafficking
11:57

Using an α-Bungarotoxin Binding Site Tag to Study GABA A Receptor Membrane Localization and Trafficking

Published on: March 28, 2014

A Plate-Based Assay for the Measurement of Endogenous Monoamine Release in Acute Brain Slices
07:56

A Plate-Based Assay for the Measurement of Endogenous Monoamine Release in Acute Brain Slices

Published on: August 11, 2021

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Molecular Biology
  • Neurophysiology

Background:

  • Traditionally, neuronal transmitter identity was considered fixed.
  • Emerging evidence challenges this notion, revealing dynamic neurotransmitter expression.
  • Activity-dependent transmitter respecification is a newly recognized form of neural plasticity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the mechanisms of activity-dependent neurotransmitter respecification.
  • To understand the role of receptor expression changes in this process.
  • To investigate the functional implications of neurotransmitter plasticity in the nervous system.

Main Methods:

  • Investigating molecular mechanisms of neurotransmitter switching in neurons.
  • Analyzing changes in postsynaptic neurotransmitter receptor expression.
  • Studying the impact of sensorimotor stimuli on neural plasticity.

Main Results:

  • Neuronal electrical activity can alter neurotransmitter expression during development and in mature brains.
  • Changes in transmitter specification are mirrored by corresponding alterations in postsynaptic receptor expression.
  • This plasticity is linked to homeostatic synaptic regulation and influences behavior.

Conclusions:

  • Neurotransmitter identity is not static but can be dynamically regulated by neural activity.
  • Activity-dependent transmitter respecification is a key mechanism for synaptic homeostasis.
  • This form of neural plasticity, induced by sensorimotor input, holds potential for clinical applications.