The architects of the brain: Scientists decipher the role of calcium signals
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 - 10:31
in Biology & Nature
German neurobiologists have found that certain receptors for the neurotransmitter glutamate determine the architecture of nerve cells in the developing brain. Individual receptor variants lead to especially long and branched processes called dendrites, which the cells communicate with. The researchers also showed that the growth-promoting property of the receptors is linked to how much calcium they allow to flow into the cells.