Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 28, Issue 36, Pages 8983-8992Publisher
SOC NEUROSCIENCE
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5226-07.2008
Keywords
motor neuron; gap junctions; activity; neuromuscular junction; competition; MK801
Categories
Funding
- University at Buffalo
- D'Youville College Research Fund
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Mammalian neuromuscular synapses undergo an activity-dependent competitive transition from multiple to single innervation during postnatal life. The presence of temporally correlated motor neuron activity, which, in part, is controlled by gap junctional coupling within the spinal cord, appears to modulate synapse elimination. Postnatal injection of dizocilpine maleate (MK801), a specific NMDA antagonist, has been shown to maintain gap junctional coupling among motor neurons. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that MK801 would maintain correlated motor neuron activity and delay postnatal synapse elimination. Temporally correlated motor neuron activity, which is normally lost during the second postnatal week, was maintained and synaptic competition was delayed by several days in 2-week-old mice injected daily with MK801. MK801 appears to modulate motor neuron activity patterns through enhancing mRNA expression of multiple connexins within the spinal cord and delaying motor neuron growth. Our results suggest that MK801 injection preserves correlated neural activity via both synaptic mechanisms and maintenance of gap junctional coupling among neurons within the spinal cord, ultimately delaying synapse elimination.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available