A recent study conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center found that a long-overlooked form of neuron-to-neuron communication — called miniature neurotransmission — plays an essential role in the development of synapses. The findings, discovered in fruit flies, raise the possibility that abnormalities in miniature neurotransmission may contribute to neurodevelopmental diseases. “These miniature events — or minis — have been found at every type of synapse that has been studied. However, since minis don’t induce neurons to fire, people assumed they were inconsequential, just background noise,” said the study’s lead author. Recent cell-culture studies, however, have suggested that minis do have some function, and even their own regulatory mechanisms. To learn more, the research team developed new genetic tools to selectively up- or down-regulate evoked and miniature neurotransmission in fruit flies. The researchers found that when both types of neurotransmissions were blocked, synapse development was abnormal. However, inhibiting or stimulating evoked neurotransmission alone had no effect on synaptic development. The researchers are currently looking into whether minis have a functional role in the mature nervous system. If so, it’s possible that defects in minis could contribute to neurodegenerative disease. To read more about this study, click here.