Synaptic Pruning in the Developing Nervous System

Synaptic Pruning in the Developing Nervous System - Using light and serial electron microscopy, Jeff Lichtman and colleagues assessed the how axonal branching and synaptic connectivity change with development. They found that motor axons initially establish weak connections with nearly all available postsynaptic targets. Dramatic pruning occurs at birth, however, with massive redistribution of synaptic resources resulting in the concentration of many more synaptic sites on many fewer muscle fibe