Neuronal Gap Junctions: Expression, Function, And Implications For Behavior

• Published in: International Review of Neurobiology Vol. 73; pp. 125 - 151
• Main Authors: McCracken, Clinton B., Roberts, David C.S.
• Format: Book Chapter Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Science & Technology 2006
• Subjects: Animals; Behavior - physiology; Gap Junctions - genetics; Gap Junctions - metabolism; Gap Junctions - ultrastructure; Humans; Models, Biological; Neurology & clinical neurophysiology; Neuronal Plasticity - physiology; Neurons - physiology; Neurosciences; Synapses - physiology; Synapses - ultrastructure
• ISBN: 9780123668745; 0123668743
• ISSN: 0074-7742; 2162-5514
• DOI: 10.1016/S0074-7742(06)73004-5

This chapter reviews what is currently known and unknown about gap junction expression in neurons. Gap junctions were traditionally identified by their characteristic structural features when viewed with thin section electron microscopy. They appear as a close apposition of thickened plasma membranes separated by a small (2–3 nm) gap of extracellular space. The chapter discusses the composition of neuronal gap junctions, the functions of neuronal gap junctions acting as ‘‘electrical synapses,’’ and highlights some of the many controversies surrounding these issues. The latter portion of the chapter is devoted to modulation and plasticity of junctional communication between neurons, with particular emphasis on the potential consequences of alterations in neuronal coupling for neural function and behavior. This chapter is an attempt to convince neuroscientists who are less familiar with the subject of the importance of direct intracellular communication between neurons in brain function. Often assumed static, the gap-junctional communication is plastic and subject to modulation, and this plasticity is likely to have meaningful consequences for neural activity.