The dynamic synapse
Neuron. 2013-10-01; 80(3): 691-703
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2013.10.013
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The constant dynamic movement of synapses and their components has emerged in the
last decades as a key feature of synaptic transmission and its plasticity.
Intramolecular protein movements drive conformation changes important to
transduce transmitter binding into signaling. Constant cytoskeletal
rearrangements power synapse shape movements. Vesicular trafficking at the pre-
and postsynapse underlies transmitter release and receptor traffic between the
cell surface and intracellular compartments, respectively. Receptor movement in
the plane of the plasma membrane by thermally powered Brownian diffusion movement
and reversible trapping by receptor-scaffold interactions has emerged as the main
mechanism to dynamically organize the synaptic membrane in nanoscale domains. We
will discuss here the different conceptual and methodological advances that have
led to a rethinking of the synapse as an organelle whose function is tightly
linked to its dynamic organization.