Development of Electrical Properties and Synaptic Transmission at the Embryonic Neuromuscular Junction

Abstract

Publisher Summary The synapse is a specialized intercellular junction devoted to communication between two electrically excitable cells. In most organisms, synapse formation, or synaptogenesis, begins during early to mid embryogenesis when the primary neural circuits are formed, but often continues postembryonically and, in specialized circumstances, can be maintained for the lifetime of the organism. This chapter defines synaptogenesis as the formation of the intercellular communication link: downstream of neuronal pathfinding and target recognition, but upstream of the established mechanism of synaptic transmission and the maintained synaptic developmental potential known as synaptic plasticity. The process of synaptogenesis defines the site of the intercellular junction and provides for the precise alignment of the presynaptic signaling apparatus and the postsynaptic receptor field. Inductive communication between synaptic partners determines both the molecular nature and the transmission strength of the assembling synapse. The chapter focuses exclusively on the development of electrical properties and synaptic transmission at the embryonic Drosophila neuromuscular junction. The development of muscle electrical properties, pre- and postsynaptic maturation of neuromuscular junction transmission characteristics, and experimental methods used to obtain electrophysiological recordings from the Drosophila embryonic preparation are also discussed.