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Silent synapses: I can't hear you! Could you please speak aloud?

Abstract

Cyclic AMP application mimics the late phase of long-term potentiation in hippocampal CA3–CA1 cultures. Now imaging with FM1-43 shows that this activity-dependent change in synaptic strength involves the recruitment of pre-existing, presynaptically silent synapses.

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Figure 1: Hippocampal cultures loaded with FM1–43, showing sites of exo–endocytosis as yellow spots.
Figure 2: Synapses in the central nervous system have a different physical structure from those in the peripheral nervous system.

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Malgaroli, A. Silent synapses: I can't hear you! Could you please speak aloud?. Nat Neurosci 2, 3–5 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/4503

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