Mapping Activity
| Neuron |
|---|
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Dendrite
Soma
Axon
Nucleus
Node of Ranvier Axon terminal Schwann cell Myelin sheath |
Dr. Wade Regehr, professor of Neurobiology developed a method to physiologically see the synaptic activity that occurs in the brain. A dye alters the fluorenscence properties when attached to calcium. Using fluorescence-microscopy techniques calcium levels are detected, and therefore the influx of calcium in the presynaptic neuron. Regehr's laboratory specializes in pre-synaptic calcium dynamics which occurs at the axon terminals. Regehr studies the implication of calcium Ca2+ as it affects synaptic strength. By studying the physiological process and mechanisms, a further understanding is made of neurological disorders such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and major depressive disorder, as well as memory and learning.
Read more about this topic: Axon Terminal
Famous quotes containing the word activity:
“The superstition respecting power and office is going to the ground. The stream of human affairs flows its own way, and is very little affected by the activity of legislators. What great masses of men wish done, will be done; and they do not wish it for a freak, but because it is their state and natural end.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)