Advances in the Neurobiology of the Neuromuscular Junction

Recombinant DNA technology and the development of the patch clamp technique for the recording of single channel activity have produced major advances in understanding the development of the neuromuscular synapse as well as functional aspects of neuromuscular transmission at the molecular level. In this abstract a short summary of the molecular mechanisms regulating neuromuscular synapse formation will set the background for understanding some congenital disorders of neuromuscular transmission. Finally, the mode of action of a neuromuscular blocking drug, succinyldicholine (suxamethonium) commonly used in anaesthesiological practice, will be introduced. For more comprehensive reviews, the reader is referred to some references are given below.