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Spine structure is the shape and composition of a dendritic spine. Dendritic spines are small protrusions from the dendritic shaft. Although their structure is variable, a typical spine consists of a spine head that may be mushroom- or cup-shaped and a thinner neck region. Each spine contains elements of the postsynaptic apparatus.
Super-resolution microscopy using a confocal STED microscope enables analyzing the relationship between morphological and functional neuronal structures at nanoscale resolution in living brain slices.
This study suggests that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is released from dendritic spines in response to activity and acts in an autocrine manner to mediate structural plasticity of the spine from which it was released.
