A neuron's molecular clock: NMDA timing shapes the flow of information
In the brain, what matters is not only whether a signal reaches a nerve cell, but also how long its chemical gate remains open. A team led by Dr. Mehdi Borjkhani from the International Centre for Translational Eye Research (ICTER) has demonstrated in a computational model that both excessively fast and excessively slow NMDA-receptor deactivation can disrupt neuronal activity. Importantly, these…
Neurons rely on electrical impulses to transmit information crucial for thoughts, images and memories. The NMDA receptor acts like a gate with built-in timing, opening to allow ions like calcium to flow and then gradually closing. The speed at which this gate closes is pivotal for balanced neuronal activity. Dr. Mehdi Borjkhani from the International Centre for Translational Eye Research found that excessively fast or slow NMDA-receptor deactivation can disrupt neuronal function.
Both scenarios lead to instability through distinct mechanisms. The study in Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience reveals that the rate at which NMDA receptors close is as important as whether they function correctly. A neuron with quickly closing receptors becomes chaotic when stimulated at certain frequencies, destabilizing information encoding.
Conversely, a slowly closing receptor leads to sustained calcium influx and synapse strengthening, promoting chaos. The optimal NMDA receptor deactivation rate lies between these extremes, enabling stable spike patterns and efficient information transmission.
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