Humana Nanoscale Imaging of Synapses: New Concepts and Opportunities: 84 (Neuromethods, 84)

With chapters contributed by leading innovators in the field of bioimaging, this volume covers the super-resolution methods which are beginning to transform neurobiological research on synapses, which hold the key to understanding higher-brain functions. From the Back Cover Synapses underlie rapid and flexible neural communication in the brain and they hold the key to understanding higher brain functions in health and disease. Because they are very small and highly dynamic, it is very difficult to study them with traditional techniques. Fortunately, recent ground-breaking advances in microscopy have greatly improved our ability to image synapses at the nanoscale, even down to the level of single molecules. Authored by leading practitioners and developers in the field, this volume focuses on the nanoscale analysis of the molecular and structural organization and dynamics of synapses of the central nervous system, utilizing superresolution (e.g. PALM, STORM, STED) and other advanced methods (e.g. EM tomography, optogenetics, FLIM). It explains the basic principles behind the various nanoscale imaging modalities, how they are implemented and what their scope and limitations are, while also highlighting several exciting new research opportunities for synapse research enabled by them.