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Temporal Expression of Gap Junctions During Neuronal Ontogeny

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Gap Junctions in the Nervous System

Part of the book series: Neuroscience Intelligence Unit ((NIU.LANDES))

Abstract

Although Ramón y Cajal suggested that cellular contiguity was the basis of neural function, it was only by the mid-1950s that the detailed morphology of synapses were unveiled by electron microscopy. As a result, the term “synapse” (from Greek synapsis meaning “to clasp”) has been widely used to designate specialized sites of transmission that can be either chemically or electrotonically mediated between cells. While discussion about the relative contribution of these forms of cellular interactions in the developing brain has been controversial, electrotonic coupling among neurons seems to diminish greatly at the time when chemical synaptic interactions are established. Electrotonic synapses have thus been suggested to provide the interactions necessary for neuronal pathfinding, chemical synaptogenesis and establishment of neuronal circuitry. Nevertheless, the mechanisms of progression between these types of synaptic interactions during development remains unclear. From the standpoint of function, although fast transmission is best achieved throughout gap junction channels, inhibitory modulation is best regulated chemically; thus, coexistence of mixed synapses could offer distinct advantageous performances during brain ontogeny. One recent example of coexistence of these modes of synaptic interaction is neurons cultured from second trimester human fetal brain, where the high level of coupling among neurons appears to compensate for the poor expression of chemical synaptic inputs1 (Fig. 16.1).

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Authors
  1. Renato Rozental
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  2. David C. Spray
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© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Rozental, R., Spray, D.C. (1996). Temporal Expression of Gap Junctions During Neuronal Ontogeny. In: Gap Junctions in the Nervous System. Neuroscience Intelligence Unit. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-21935-5_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-21935-5_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-21937-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-21935-5

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