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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2011 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Neurosci. 2011 Apr 10;14(5):587–594. doi: 10.1038/nn.2799

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Synapses are formed on newly extended branch tips. (a) In vivo image of a branch tip elongation. Blue arrow marks the approximate distal end of the branch tip at −14d. (b) Re-identification of the same imaged dendrite in fixed tissue following immuno-staining for GFP. (c) High-magnification view of dendritic portion reconstructed by serial section electron microscopy (white box in [b]). (d) Serial section electron microscopy reconstruction of the in vivo imaged dendrite (in green) with region proximal to (yellow arrows in a-c) and very distal portion of (red arrows in a-c) elongated branch tip. Left panel indicates contacting axon terminals (in blue). Right panel indicates synaptic contacts (in blue). (e, f) Electron micrographs showing a synapse on the newly elongated branch tip (e arrow in [d]) and on the proximal, stable dendrite (f arrow in [d]), respectively. Bottom panels show an enlargement of the synapse with visible synaptic cleft (red arrows) and synaptic vesicles. Scale bars: (a,b), 5 µm; (c), 2µm; (d), 1 µm; (e,f – top panels), 500 nm; (e,f – bottom panels), 100 nm.