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Updated: Sep 27, 2025
Super-Resolution Imaging to Study Co-Localization of Proteins and Synaptic Markers in Primary Neurons
Published on: October 31, 2020
Re-examination of the determinants of synaptic strength from the perspective of superresolution imaging
Xu-Zhuo Gou1, Austin M Ramsey2, Ai-Hui Tang1
1Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Membraneless Organelles & Cellular Dynamics, CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Biomedical Sciences and Health Laboratory of Anhui Province, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China; Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, China.
Abstract:
Synaptic strength is thought to be determined by the number of presynaptic release sites, release probability and postsynaptic response to quantal release. Changes in these parameters are directly relevant to synaptic plasticity. However, our understanding of these determinants as they relate to synaptic function has been reformed by recent work on nanoscale organizations of synaptic proteins. Specifically, release probability is distributed heterogeneously among multiple release sites within a single active zone, and the quantal postsynaptic response depends strongly on the local distribution of receptors around the release site. These nanoscale characteristics reveal a new deeper layer of modulation of synaptic transmission and plasticity.
