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Updated: Dec 28, 2025

Simultaneous Pre- and Post-synaptic Electrophysiological Recording from Xenopus Nerve-muscle Co-cultures
Published on: March 11, 2013
Pre- and post-synaptic roles of action potential activity in synapse elimination revealed by using ectopic
Giuseppe Busetto1, Alberto Cangiano1
1Department of Neurosciences Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie 8, 37134, Verona, Italy; National Institute of Neuroscience, Verona, Italy.
Abstract:
The formation of the neuromuscular junction (nmj) is based on molecular cascades initiated by neural agrin as well as electrical activity in the neuromuscular structures. This review focuses on the latter factor, emphasizing the multiplicity of its mechanisms in the process of synapse elimination following initial polyneuronal innervation. Pre- and post-synaptic components of activity have in fact been identified through experiments on an adult model of nmj formation: ectopic reinnervation of the rat soleus muscle by the fibular nerve. Two activity-dependent elimination processes are thus compared: competition between distributed nmjs, which depends on evoked muscle impulse activity, and competition between axons converging on single nmjs, which instead depends on differences in the timing of impulses in the converging axons.
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