Ultrastructural and molecular features of excitatory and glutamatergic synapses. The auditory nerve synapses

Abstract

Glutamatergic synapses mediate fast synaptic transmission in the central nervous system. New developments highlight the importance of the synapse structural and molecular remodeling during development, aging and in neurological disorders. This chapter summarizes key structural and molecular aspects of the presynaptic and postsynaptic components of glutamatergic synapses in the brain. In addition, this chapter describes how the structure of the postsynaptic density and ionotropic glutamate content contribute to the function of auditory nerve synapses in the lower auditory brainstem.

Keywords: AMPA receptors; Cochlear nucleus; Freeze-fracture; Glutamate; Immunolabeling; Postsynaptic; Postsynaptic density; Presynaptic; Replica; Synaptic vesicles; Transmission electron microscopy.