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Synaptic Signaling

Synaptic Signaling

Neurons communicate at synapses, or junctions, to excite or inhibit the activity of other neurons or target cells, such as muscles. Synapses may be chemical or electrical.
Most synapses are chemical, meaning an electrical impulse or action potential spurs the release of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. The neuron sending the signal is called the presynaptic neuron, and the neuron receiving the signal is the postsynaptic neuron.
The presynaptic neuron fires an action potential that...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 14, 2025

Voltage-sensitive Dye Recording from Axons, Dendrites and Dendritic Spines of Individual Neurons in Brain Slices

Voltage-sensitive Dye Recording from Axons, Dendrites and Dendritic Spines of Individual Neurons in Brain Slices

Published on: November 29, 2012

Mapping Synaptic Activity at the Population and Cellular Levels with Genetically Encoded Voltage Indicators (GEVIs).

Younginha Jung¹, Ryuichi Nakajima², Sung Min Ahn^2,3

¹Bioimaging Data Curation Center, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)

|April 12, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Genetically encoded voltage indicators (GEVIs) offer optical monitoring of neuronal communication. These tools track synaptic activity in populations and individual cells, advancing neuroscience research.

Keywords:

ArcLight Calcium imaging GEVIs Hippocampal slice Neuronal activity Retinal ganglion cell Voltage imaging

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Molecular Biology
Biophysics

Background:

Neuronal activity monitoring is crucial for understanding brain function.
Genetically encoded voltage indicators (GEVIs) offer a novel optical approach.
Existing methods have limitations in spatial and temporal resolution.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate the application of GEVIs for monitoring neuronal communication.
To showcase GEVIs' utility at both population and single-cell levels.
To highlight GEVIs as a powerful tool for interrogating neural circuits.

Main Methods:

Utilized genetically encoded voltage indicators (GEVIs) for optical voltage sensing.
Applied GEVIs in the hippocampus (CA1 region) for population-level monitoring.
Used GEVIs in retinal ganglion cells for individual cell-level analysis.
Recorded synaptic activity, including activation and inhibition, from chemical and electrical synapses.

Main Results:

GEVIs successfully monitored neuronal intercellular communication in distinct brain regions.
Optical readout of voltage transients enabled reporting of synaptic activity.
GEVI expression could be restricted to specific cell types, allowing targeted interrogation.
Demonstrated GEVIs' capability to report both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic events.

Conclusions:

GEVIs provide a versatile optical method for assessing neuronal activity.
GEVIs are valuable for studying synaptic transmission and neural circuit dynamics.
The cell-type specificity of GEVIs enhances their utility in neuroscience research.