A stochastic model of NMDA receptor trafficking during synaptogenesis
We present a stochastic model of NMDA (N-methyl d-aspartate) receptor transport along a dendrite prior to synapse formation. Receptors undergo periods of intracellular kinesin motor--driven transport along microtubules interspersed with periods of cycling to the cell surface through exo/endocytsosis. The stochastic dynamics is reduced to a spatially discrete hopping model that determines the time--dependent distribution of receptors along the dendrite. We also investigate how possible defects in motor--assisted transport can affect this distribution.
University of Utah
| Department of Mathematics
|
bressloff@math.utah.edu