Maria Hernandez Mesa

Significance This study demonstrates that synaptic morphology profoundly shapes neurotransmitter diffusion and NMDA receptor activation, directly impacting synaptic efficacy. Our model shows that factors like synaptic cleft curvature, membrane spacing, and surface-area-to-volume ratio significantly influence receptor dynamics.

Abstract Synaptic morphology plays a critical role in modulating the dynamics of neurotransmitter diffusion and receptor activation in interneuron communication. In this study, we investigated how variations in synaptic geometry, including curvature of the synaptic cleft, distance between the presynaptic and postsynaptic membranes, and the surface area- to-volume ratio of the cleft, influence glutamate diffusion and N-Methyl-D-Aspartate receptor (NMDAR) opening probabilities.

Abstract Dendritic spines are small protrusions on dendrites in neurons and serve as sites of postsynaptic activity. Some of these spines contain smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER), and sometimes an even further specialized SER known as the spine apparatus (SA). In this work, we developed a stochastic spatial model to investigate the role of the SER and the SA in modulating Ca2+ dynamics.