Neuroscience & Psychology

How Synapses Grow Up

▪️A new study reveals how young synapses gradually mature to send chemical signals correctly — a process that can take days and depends on neural activity. Researchers tracked this in fruit flies by tagging newly formed synapses with fluorescent markers that changed color over time, allowing them to observe how proteins assemble to enable neurotransmitter release.

▪️When researchers blocked neural activity, synapses grew abnormally large but failed to form new connections, showing that active communication drives healthy development. The findings shed light on how synaptic dysfunctions may lead to disorders like autism, epilepsy, and intellectual disability, and could inform strategies to fine-tune neural connections in disease.

🧠🆔 @neurocognitionandlearning

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135 viewsH., edited  Oct 16 at 05:54

How Synapses Grow Up

▪️A new study reveals how young synapses gradually mature to send chemical signals correctly — a process that can take days and depends on neural activity. Researchers tracked this in fruit flies by tagging newly formed synapses with fluorescent markers that changed color over time, allowing them to observe how proteins assemble to enable neurotransmitter release.

▪️When researchers blocked neural activity, synapses grew abnormally large but failed to form new connections, showing that active communication drives healthy development. The findings shed light on how synaptic dysfunctions may lead to disorders like autism, epilepsy, and intellectual disability, and could inform strategies to fine-tune neural connections in disease.

🧠🆔 @neurocognitionandlearning

BY Neuroscience & Psychology