{"id":26122,"date":"2025-12-15T11:15:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T19:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=26122"},"modified":"2026-03-04T16:49:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T00:49:46","slug":"synapse-stability-governed-by-physical-signals-not-electrical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/synapse-stability-governed-by-physical-signals-not-electrical\/","title":{"rendered":"Biologists discover neurons use physical signals \u2014 not electricity \u2014 to stabilize communication"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/synaptic-stability-top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/synaptic-stability-top-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/synaptic-stability-top-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/12\/synaptic-stability-top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Illustration of a synapse with electrical \u201clightning\u201d between the neurons\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Stable communication between neurons is key to overall brain health and muscle control. (Photo: iStock.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=science-and-technology\">Science and Technology<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Biologists discover neurons use physical signals \u2014 not electricity \u2014 to stabilize communication<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  A USC Dornsife team shows how synapses rapidly adjust when their receptors fail, revealing a new mechanism of neural resilience.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">USC Dornsife News<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">December 15, 2025<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>Every movement you make and every memory you form depends on precise communication between neurons. When that communication is disrupted, the brain must rapidly rebalance its internal signaling to keep circuits functioning properly. New research from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences shows that neurons can stabilize their signaling using a fast, physical mechanism \u2014 not the electrical activity scientists long assumed was required.<\/p>\n<p>The discovery, supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2502997122\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">published<\/a> recently in <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em>, reveals a system that doesn\u2019t depend on the flow of charged particles to maintain signaling when part of a synapse \u2014 the junction between neurons \u2014 suddenly stops working.<\/p>\n<p>Maintaining this balance between neurons <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/answers-for-diseases-like-schizophrenia-may-lie-in-how-the-brain-maintains-balance\/\">is essential<\/a> for muscle control, learning and overall brain health. Failure to maintain this \u201chomeostasis\u201d has been linked to neurological conditions such as epilepsy and autism.<\/p>\n<p>USC Dornsife researchers led by <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/profile\/dion-dickman\/\">Dion Dickman<\/a>, professor of <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/bisc\/\">biological sciences<\/a>, set out to understand how neurons compensate when communication between them falters. Specifically, they wanted to know how the receiving side of a synapse detects a sudden loss of function and signals the sending neuron to increase its output to restore homeostasis.<\/p>\n<p>Working with fruit flies, a standard model for studying the nervous system, the team blocked glutamate receptors on the receiving side of the synapse with a chemical known to shut them down, then used electrical recordings and high-resolution microscopy to observe how the synapse responded. To identify the molecules responsible for triggering the response, the researchers used <a href=\"https:\/\/medlineplus.gov\/genetics\/understanding\/genomicresearch\/genomeediting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CRISPR gene-editing<\/a> tools to remove specific structural proteins one by one and observe what changed in the cells.<\/p>\n<p>This process of elimination revealed that the key trigger for the rapid adjustment is not the loss of electrical activity but the physical reorganization of a specific type of receptor. When these receptors were blocked, they rearranged themselves within the synapse, which set off a signaling process that instructed the sending neuron to release more neurotransmitter, helping maintain steady communication.<\/p>\n<p>A scaffold protein called DLG proved essential for this response. When DLG was removed using CRISPR, the rapid compensation failed.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers also showed that this fast signaling process continues even when all electrical synapse activity is silenced, indicating that the system relies on structural cues rather than electrical signals.<\/p>\n<p>Understanding how synapses quickly adapt could help guide future research into treatments that strengthen neural resilience and ward off neurological diseases.<\/p>\n<h2>About the study<\/h2>\n<p>In addition to Dickman, study researchers include first author Chengjie Qiu, Sarah Perry, Christine Chen, Jiawen Chen, Jin Zhuang, Yifu Han and <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/computational-biology-phd-graduate-excels\/\">Pragya Goel<\/a>, all of USC Dornsife.<\/p>\n<p>The study was supported by National Institutes of Health grants NS091546 and NS26654.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container 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resilience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":26123,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,16],"tags":[88,106,60],"class_list":["post-26122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-science-and-technology","tag-biological-sciences","tag-neuroscience","tag-research"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Biologists discover neurons use physical signals \u2014 not electricity \u2014 to stabilize communication<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"USC Dornsife team shows how synapses rapidly adjust to be stable when receptors fail, revealing a new mechanism of neural resilience\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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