Synaptic pruning is a crucial neurodevelopmental process through which the brain refines its neural circuitry by systematically eliminating excess or weak synaptic connections. During early childhood ...

Research led by SUNY Downstate Medical Center has identified a brain receptor that appears to initiate adolescent synaptic pruning, a process believed necessary for learning, but one that appears to ...

An analysis of how synaptic proteins change during early development reveals differences between mice and marmosets but also what's different in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. The ...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition in which affected individuals experience difficulties in social communication and exhibit restricted, repetitive patterns of ...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition in which affected individuals experience difficulties in social communication and exhibit restricted, repetitive patterns of ...

Synaptic pruning is a little like sleep. We know both processes are important to healthy brain function, but we don't know exactly how they happen, nor how to reliably treat problems in the system.

Scientists have discovered that the adolescent brain does more than prune old connections. During the teen years, it actively builds dense new clusters of synapses in specific parts of neurons. These ...

This image shows densely accumulated dendritic spines. Researchers from Kyushu University discovered a previously unrecognized synaptic “hotspot” that forms during adolescence, challenging the ...