The flip side of synapse elimination.
The fine tuning of synaptic circuits often requires an activity-dependent phase in which appropriate connections are strengthened and inappropriate connections are eliminated. In this issue of Neuron, Walsh and Lichtman propose a novel "synaptic takeover" mechanism for synapse elimination at the vertebrate NMJ, where withdrawal of one axon is accompanied by expansion of a competing axon into the newly vacated territory.
Zito
Karen
K
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA.
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000294:innervation; D009420:Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology*; D009469:Neuromuscular Junction / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*