More than a trillion nerve terminals interconnect neurons in the human brain. These terminals are fundamental for signal transmission and nerve cell communication. Among other techniques, the isolation of nerve terminals [or synaptosomes (Whittaker et al. Biochem J, 90(2):293-303, 1964)] has been fundamental to study the biochemistry and the physiology of the nervous system. This chapter describes the isolation and purification of intact synaptosomes from rodent brain tissue that can be used to further characterize synaptic structure and function and to examine the molecular mechanisms of neurotransmission.
Keywords: Density gradient centrifugation; Homogenization; Nerve terminal; Percoll™; Synaptosomes.