小鼠前额叶与初级体感皮层锥体神经元突触的Ca2+通道与释放传感器松散偶联差异
Loose coupling between Ca2+ channels and release sensors as a synaptic correlate of higher-order brain function
小鼠前额叶皮层（PFC）与初级体感皮层（S1）中同一类型锥体神经元突触在突触前纳米结构上存在显著差异：PFC成熟突触采用松散的微结构域偶联，而S1采用紧密的纳米结构域偶联。这些差异伴随两区域间突触时序、效能和可塑性的显著不同。数据提示成熟新皮层通过调节突触拓扑结构，使看似相同的神经元类型特化以适应所需功能，锥体神经元突触的微结构域偶联可能是高级新皮层功能的突触前结构-功能相关物。
来源：eLife · doi.org
In the mature neocortex, functionally distinct areas are built by the same archetypes of neurons, but depending on the area, these neurons and their synapses are engaged in very different functions, ranging from lower-order processing of sensory information to higher-order associations and cognitive functions. We found significant differences in the functional presynaptic nanoarchitectures of the same types of pyramidal neuron synapses, depending on whether they are located in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) or in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) of mice. Mature synapses in PFC operated with loose microdomain coupling, as opposed to tight nanodomain coupling in S1. These differences were associated with significant differences in synaptic timing, efficacy, and plasticity between areas. Our data suggest that the mature neocortex uses tuning of synaptic topographies to specialize seemingly identical types of neurons for their required function. They suggest that microdomain coupling in pyramidal neuron synapses could be a presynaptic structure-function correlate of higher-order neocortical functions.