image: This is a fluorescently-labeled neuron in layer 5 of cortex from a mouse that's been treated with soluble PirB to counteract the effect of long term loss of vision in one eye. Each protrusion is a postsynaptic specialization associated with a synapse. By counting these protrusions researchers were able to measure how they were lost during eye closure and restored during treatment. This image relates to a paper that appeared in the Oct. 15, 2014, issue of Science Translational Medicine, published by AAAS. The paper, by Dr. D.N. Bochner at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., and colleagues was titled, 'Blocking PirB up-regulates spines and functional synapses to unlock visual cortical plasticity and facilitate recovery from amblyopia.' view more
Credit: Maja Djurisic and Richie Sapp