Dendritic spines act as biochemical computational units and must adapt their responses according to their activation history. Calcium influx acts as the first signaling step during postsynaptic activation and is a determinant of synaptic weight change. Dendritic spines also come in a variety of sizes and shapes. To probe the relationship between calcium dynamics and spine morphology, we used a stochastic reaction-diffusion model of calcium dynamics in idealized and realistic geometries. We show that despite the stochastic nature of the various calcium channels, receptors, and pumps, spine size and shape can modulate calcium dynamics and subsequently synaptic weight updates in a deterministic manner. Through a series of exhaustive simulations and analyses, we found that the calcium dynamics and synaptic weight change depend on the volume-to-surface area of the spine. The relationships between calcium dynamics and spine morphology identified in idealized geometries also hold in realistic geometries, suggesting that there are geometrically determined deterministic relationships that may modulate synaptic weight change.
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1 August 2022
Article|
July 12 2022
Dendritic spine morphology regulates calcium-dependent synaptic weight change
Miriam K. Bell
,
Miriam K. Bell
*
1
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
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Maven V. Holst,
Maven V. Holst
*
1
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
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Christopher T. Lee
,
Christopher T. Lee
1
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
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Padmini Rangamani
1
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Correspondence to Padmini Rangamani: prangamani@ucsd.edu
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Miriam K. Bell
*
1
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Maven V. Holst
*
1
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Christopher T. Lee
1
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Correspondence to Padmini Rangamani: prangamani@ucsd.edu
*
M.K. Bell and M.V. Holst contributed equally to this paper.
Received:
June 11 2021
Revision Received:
May 28 2022
Accepted:
June 07 2022
Online Issn: 1540-7748
Print Issn: 0022-1295
Funding
Funder(s):
National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate
Funder(s):
Hartwell Foundation
Funder(s):
Kavli Institute of Brain and Mind Innovative Research
- Award Id(s): #2021-1755
Funder(s):
Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Award Id(s): FA9550-18-1-0051
Funder(s):
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
- Award Id(s): P41-GM103712
Funder(s):
National Center for Multiscale Modeling of Biological Systems
© 2022 Bell et al.
2022
This article is distributed under the terms of an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike–No Mirror Sites license for the first six months after the publication date (see http://www.rupress.org/terms/). After six months it is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 4.0 International license, as described at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).
J Gen Physiol (2022) 154 (8): e202112980.
Article history
Received:
June 11 2021
Revision Received:
May 28 2022
Accepted:
June 07 2022
Citation
Miriam K. Bell, Maven V. Holst, Christopher T. Lee, Padmini Rangamani; Dendritic spine morphology regulates calcium-dependent synaptic weight change. J Gen Physiol 1 August 2022; 154 (8): e202112980. doi: https://doi.org/10.1085/jgp.202112980
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