image: A pyramidal neuron from the mouse prefrontal cortex is shown in red. This excitatory cell is embedded within a network of inhibitory GABAergic axons, shown in blue, that form synaptic contacts on tiny branched projections of the pyramidal neuron called dendrites. The work of Chiu and colleagues provides evidence that the effect of an inhibitory synapse (blue) can be as compartmentalized as that of an excitatory synapse (red). This image relates to a paper that appeared in the May 10, 2013, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by Chiayu Chiu at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., and colleagues was titled, "Compartmentalization of GABAergic Inhibition by Dendritic Spines." view more
Credit: [Image courtesy of Gyorgy Lur and Michael Higley]