Synaptic Plasticity at the Mammalian Neuromuscular Junction

哺乳动物神经肌肉接头的突触可塑性

• 批准号: 8708342
• 负责人: David Van Essen
• 金额: $ 14.08万
• 依托单位: California Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1987
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1987-09-01 至 1990-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=8708342&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Synaptic; Plasticity; Mammalian; Neuromuscular; Junction

During normal postnatal development, mammalian skeletal muscles undergo an orderly process of synapse elimination, whereby each muscle fiber begins in a state of polyinnervation but eventually loses all except one of its inputs. Dr. Van Essen will study several aspects of synapse elimination and plasticity of connections in the soleus muscle of the rabbit. In one set of projects, Dr. Van Essen and his colleagues will examine the role of nerve and muscle activity in this process of synapse elimination. Previous studies have shown that increased activity accelerates the overall rate of synapse elimination, while differential activity among competing synapses confers an advantage to the less active inputs. Dr. Van Essen is interested in clarifying the mechanisms whereby activity exerts these dual influences and also in ascertaining whether natural activity patterns contribute to sculpting of the distribution of motor unit sizes in the adult. Another set of projects is aimed at understanding the basis of fiber-type specificity, whereby fast- and slow-contracting muscle fibers are selectively innervated by fast and slow motor neurons. Dr. Van Essen has made a number of important contributions to this field over the past ten years. The results of these new studies will certainly add fundamental information about the important developmental phenomenon of synapse elimination.

在正常的出生后发育过程中，哺乳动物骨骼肌经历了一个有序的突触消除过程，在这个过程中，每条肌肉纤维开始处于多神经支配状态，但最终失去了除一条输入之外的所有输入。范·埃森博士将研究兔比目鱼肌中突触消除和连接可塑性的几个方面。在一组项目中，范·埃森博士和他的同事们将研究神经和肌肉活动在突触消除过程中的作用。先前的研究表明，活动增加会加快突触消除的总体速度，而相互竞争的突触之间的不同活动会给不太活跃的输入带来优势。范·埃森博士感兴趣的是澄清活动对这些双重影响产生影响的机制，以及确定自然活动模式是否有助于塑造成年人运动单位大小的分布。另一组项目旨在了解纤维类型特异性的基础，即快收缩和慢收缩的肌肉纤维由快运动神经元和慢运动神经元选择性地神经支配。在过去的十年里，范·埃森博士对这一领域做出了许多重要贡献。这些新研究的结果肯定会增加有关突触消除这一重要发育现象的基本信息。