Three-dimensional spatial distribution of synapses in the neocortex: A dual-beam electron microscopy study

In the cerebral cortex, most synapses are found in the neuropil, but relatively little is known about their 3-dimensional organization. Using an automated dual-beam electron microscope that combines focused ion beam milling and scanning electron microscopy, we have been able to obtain 10 three-dimensional samples with an average volume of 180 µm(3) from the neuropil of layer III of the young rat somatosensory cortex (hindlimb representation). We have used specific software tools to fully reconstruct 1695 synaptic junctions present in these samples and to accurately quantify the number of synapses per unit volume. These tools also allowed us to determine synapse position and to analyze their spatial distribution using spatial statistical methods. Our results indicate that the distribution of synaptic junctions in the neuropil is nearly random, only constrained by the fact that synapses cannot overlap in space. A theoretical model based on random sequential absorption, which closely reproduces the actual distribution of synapses, is also presented

El debate académico de competición como instrumento para el aprendizaje de cuestiones de derecho, ciencia política y criminología

Memoria ID-0032. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2016-2017

Clínica jurídica de acción social

Memoria ID-0064. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2016-2017

Aplicación de la metodología aprendizaje-servicio en la asignatura "Clínica jurídica de acción social" de la Facultad de Derecho

Memoria ID-149. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2019-2020

Clínica jurídica de acción social

Memoria ID-025. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2018-2019

Adaptación de la asignatura “Clínica Jurídica de Acción Social” a un modelo de Aprendizaje-servicio con docencia semipresencial u online

Memoria ID-102. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2020-2021

Clínica jurídica de acción social

Memoria ID-0032. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2017-2018

El reto de la inclusión de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible en la formación inicial de profesores de secundaria: creación del MOOC curso cero sobre educación y ODS, inclusión en asignaturas y en trabajos fin de máster

Memoria ID-041. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2021-2022

Editorial: The Major Discoveries of Cajal and His Disciples: Consolidated Milestones for the Neuroscience of the XXIst Century

Our current research activities are financed with grants from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad-MINECO (SAF2012-40023, RD12-0032-12) and CSIC (2015201023) to FC.Peer reviewedPeer Reviewe

Size, Shape, and Distribution of Multivesicular Bodies in the Juvenile Rat Somatosensory Cortex: A 3D Electron Microscopy Study

Multivesicular bodies (MVBs) are membrane-bound organelles that belong to the endosomal pathway. They participate in the transport, sorting, storage, recycling, degradation, and release of multiple substances. They interchange cargo with other organelles and participate in their renovation and degradation. We have used focused ion beam milling and scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) to obtain stacks of serial sections from the neuropil of the somatosensory cortex of the juvenile rat. Using dedicated software, we have 3D-reconstructed 1618 MVBs. The mean density of MVBs was 0.21 per cubic micron. They were unequally distributed between dendrites (39.14%), axons (18.16%), and nonsynaptic cell processes (42.70%). About one out of five MVBs (18.16%) were docked on mitochondria, representing the process by which the endosomal pathway participates in mitochondrial maintenance. Other features of MVBs, such as the presence of tubular protrusions (6.66%) or clathrin coats (19.74%) can also be interpreted in functional terms, since both are typical of early endosomes. The sizes of MVBs follow a lognormal distribution, with differences across cortical layers and cellular compartments. The mean volume of dendritic MVBs is more than twice as large as the volume of axonic MVBs. In layer I, they are smaller, on average, than in the other layers.The Spanish “Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades” (grant PGC2018-094307-B-I00 and the Cajal Blue Brain Project [C080020-09; the Spanish partner of the Blue Brain Project initiative from EPFL, Switzerland]; the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No. 785907 (Human Brain Project, SGA2) and; Centro de Investigacion en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED, CB06/05/0066, Spain)