Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

The postsynaptic density

¹Department of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91125.

Current Opinion in Neurobiology

|October 1, 1993

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The postsynaptic density, a nerve cell structure, plays roles in synaptic adhesion and receptor function. Modern techniques are now revealing the specific proteins that make up this crucial organelle.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

UK medical students' perspectives on practical prescribing teaching and learning provisions: a cross-sectional survey.

European journal of clinical pharmacology·2019

Same author

Telling tails.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2001

Same author

Presence of both constitutive and inducible forms of heat shock protein 70 in the cerebral cortex and hippocampal synapses.

Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)·2001

Same author

Densin-180 forms a ternary complex with the (alpha)-subunit of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and (alpha)-actinin.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2001

Same author

Signal-processing machines at the postsynaptic density.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2000

Same author

Sticking together.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2000

Same journal

Population codes for context-dependent decision-making.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026

Same journal

Cichlid fish as a model for understanding social dysfunction.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026

Same journal

On aims and methods in field neuroethology: Investigating neural mechanisms of behavior in semi-natural and natural contexts.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026

Same journal

Neurobiological interfaces connecting environmental change to monarch butterfly migration.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026

Same journal

Learning how to experience the world: From circuits to cell types to genes.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026

Same journal

Editorial overview for neurobiology of disease 2026.

Current opinion in neurobiology·2026

See all related articles

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology

Background:

The postsynaptic density (PSD) is a critical submembrane structure in nerve cells.
It is involved in regulating synaptic adhesion, neurotransmitter receptor clustering, and receptor sensitivity.
Many proteins within the PSD have historically been difficult to characterize due to their insolubility.

Purpose of the Study:

To define the molecular composition of the postsynaptic density.
To elucidate the function of previously uncharacterized PSD proteins.
To leverage modern immunological and microsequencing techniques for detailed organelle analysis.

Main Methods:

Utilized modern immunological methods to identify proteins.
Employed microsequencing techniques to determine protein identity.

Related Experiment Videos

Analyzed the highly insoluble postsynaptic density fraction.

Main Results:

Identified key proteins within the postsynaptic density.
Characterized the molecular makeup of the PSD.
Provided a more precise understanding of PSD composition.

Conclusions:

Modern techniques enable precise characterization of the postsynaptic density.
The molecular composition of the PSD is being increasingly understood.
This research advances the study of synaptic structure and function.