The Secrets of a Functional Synapse – From a Computational and Experimental Viewpoint
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neuronal communication is tightly regulated in time and in space. The neuronal transmission takes place in the nerve terminal, at a specialized structure called the synapse. Following neuronal activation, an electrical signal trigger...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2006-03-01
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| Series: | BMC Bioinformatics |
| _version_ | 1811298631332921344 |
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| author | Linial Michal |
| author_facet | Linial Michal |
| author_sort | Linial Michal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neuronal communication is tightly regulated in time and in space. The neuronal transmission takes place in the nerve terminal, at a specialized structure called the synapse. Following neuronal activation, an electrical signal triggers neurotransmitter (NT) release at the active zone. The process starts by the signal reaching the synapse followed by a fusion of the synaptic vesicle and diffusion of the released NT in the synaptic cleft; the NT then binds to the appropriate receptor, and as a result, a potential change at the target cell membrane is induced. The entire process lasts for only a fraction of a millisecond. An essential property of the synapse is its capacity to undergo biochemical and morphological changes, a phenomenon that is referred to as synaptic plasticity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this survey, we consider the mammalian brain synapse as our model. We take a cell biological and a molecular perspective to present fundamental properties of the synapse:(i) the accurate and efficient delivery of organelles and material to and from the synapse; (ii) the coordination of gene expression that underlies a particular NT phenotype; (iii) the induction of local protein expression in a subset of stimulated synapses. We describe the computational facet and the formulation of the problem for each of these topics.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Predicting the behavior of a synapse under changing conditions must incorporate genomics and proteomics information with new approaches in computational biology.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:22:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d9b0bb7a70aa41dc890b029b1d268ad8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2105 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:22:11Z |
| publishDate | 2006-03-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Bioinformatics |
| spelling | doaj.art-d9b0bb7a70aa41dc890b029b1d268ad82022-12-22T02:58:36ZengBMCBMC Bioinformatics1471-21052006-03-017Suppl 1S610.1186/1471-2105-7-S1-S6The Secrets of a Functional Synapse – From a Computational and Experimental ViewpointLinial Michal<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neuronal communication is tightly regulated in time and in space. The neuronal transmission takes place in the nerve terminal, at a specialized structure called the synapse. Following neuronal activation, an electrical signal triggers neurotransmitter (NT) release at the active zone. The process starts by the signal reaching the synapse followed by a fusion of the synaptic vesicle and diffusion of the released NT in the synaptic cleft; the NT then binds to the appropriate receptor, and as a result, a potential change at the target cell membrane is induced. The entire process lasts for only a fraction of a millisecond. An essential property of the synapse is its capacity to undergo biochemical and morphological changes, a phenomenon that is referred to as synaptic plasticity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this survey, we consider the mammalian brain synapse as our model. We take a cell biological and a molecular perspective to present fundamental properties of the synapse:(i) the accurate and efficient delivery of organelles and material to and from the synapse; (ii) the coordination of gene expression that underlies a particular NT phenotype; (iii) the induction of local protein expression in a subset of stimulated synapses. We describe the computational facet and the formulation of the problem for each of these topics.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Predicting the behavior of a synapse under changing conditions must incorporate genomics and proteomics information with new approaches in computational biology.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Linial Michal The Secrets of a Functional Synapse – From a Computational and Experimental Viewpoint BMC Bioinformatics |
| title | The Secrets of a Functional Synapse – From a Computational and Experimental Viewpoint |
| title_full | The Secrets of a Functional Synapse – From a Computational and Experimental Viewpoint |
| title_fullStr | The Secrets of a Functional Synapse – From a Computational and Experimental Viewpoint |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Secrets of a Functional Synapse – From a Computational and Experimental Viewpoint |
| title_short | The Secrets of a Functional Synapse – From a Computational and Experimental Viewpoint |
| title_sort | secrets of a functional synapse from a computational and experimental viewpoint |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT linialmichal thesecretsofafunctionalsynapsefromacomputationalandexperimentalviewpoint AT linialmichal secretsofafunctionalsynapsefromacomputationalandexperimentalviewpoint |