A research on the influence of neurodegenerative diseases on chemical signal transmission appears on the cover of the current issue of Biophysical Journal: Neuronal dendrites undergo structural evolution during the course of neurodegenerative disease progression or aging. Particularly, the spatial distribution, shape and density of spines, the length, curvature and thickness of dendritic channels, and the spatial extent and population of branches can be affected. Consequently, transmission of chemical signals (and thus neural functions) can be influenced. A stochastic model for transport of noninteracting chemical signals inside neuronal dendrites has been recently developed by Robin Jose, Ludger Santen (A8) and Reza Shaebani (A7), which shows how first-passage properties depend on the key structural characteristics affected by neurodegenerative disorders or aging. These factors are the extent of the tree, the topological bias induced by segmental decrease of dendrite diameter, and the trapping probabilities in biochemical cages such as spines. The study, which has been recently published in Biophysical Journal, is selected as Biophys J Issue Cover and highlighted in Biophysical Society Blog.

Highlight in Biophysical Society Blog

Cover image of the current issue of the Biophysical Journal