We uncovered dendrite-specific regulation of the mitochondrial surface area, whereas axon initial segment (AIS) mitochondria show changes in polarity; both responses are lost in the Fmr1 KO. Taken ...

2. Neurons are made of three parts Neurons receive signals in a short antennae-like part called the dendrite, and send signals to other neurons with a long cable-like part called the axon.

By day 15, when the asymmetric dendrite pattern was already established, the lateral polarization diminished. Researchers also looked at the placement of the Golgi apparatus within the dendrites.

More information: Le Gao et al, Single-neuron analysis of dendrites and axons reveals the network organization in mouse prefrontal cortex, Nature Neuroscience (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01339-y ...

Rather than just sending messages from the axon of one neuron to the dendrite of another neuron — which is the typical model of neuronal activity — nearly half the fly's neuronal connectivity involved ...

However, this was only true for half of connections in the fruit fly larva brain. Sometimes, fruit fly neurons send messages from axon-to-axon, dendrite-to-dendrite, or dendrite-to-axon.

This image shows a neuron in which the axon originates at a dendrite. Signals arriving at this dendrites become more efficiently forwarded than signals input elsewhere / Alexei V. Egorov, 2014 ...

As a primer, a neuron comes down to two parts: axon and dendrite. A textbook synaptic connection flows from axon to dendrite, but these researchers saw synapses that went against the grain.

However, there are exceptions to this rule, and it turns out that axon-to-axon, dendrite-to-dendrite and dendrite-to-axon connections make up about one-third of the synapses in the larval fly ...

The organization of neural circuits determines nervous system function. Variability can arise during neural circuit development (e.g. neurite morphology, axon/dendrite position). To ensure robust ...