Construction Exemplification Essay

Evolution of the Synapse
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Evolution of the Synapse
I second the fact that all vertebrates have the same molecular synapse make up, while invertebrates and unicellular animals share some compositional properties with vertebrates. A study that conducted to assess the molecular composition of synapses in vertebrates revealed that some of the protein bands that were present in all synaptic junctions of vertebrate species that were examined include tubulins, actin, and myosin. More so, a unique component that was discovered in all vertebrates was the PSD-52. Another study revealed that the septate pleated junction present in invertebrates contains proteins that are also found in the neuronal synapse of vertebrates (Harden, Wang & Krieger, 2016).
More so, I agree with the fact that the availability of the NMDA receptor in its full form translates to better learning in vertebrates. An experiment conducted to assess the role of NMDA in behavioural plasticity revealed that the low availability of the NMDA in invertebrates translated to poor associative learning and memory in the species (Xia & Chiang, 2009). Further, a study conducted to assess the function of the NMDA receptor in unicellular organisms revealed that NMDA receptors in unicellular organisms are similar to those present in vertebrates. However, the role of the receptor in these unicellular organisms is to control behavior according to the environmental stimuli.
Finally, studies have confirmed that the higher number of genes and protein components present in neural synapses of vertebrates explain their greater brain power (Emes et al.

, 2008). Invertebrates have little learning abilities that are driven by simple protein compositions in their synapses. On the other hand, vertebrates exhibit higher learning abilities that are powered by intricate molecular compositions in their synapses (Carlson, 2013). The expansion of synapse proteins that has mainly occurred in the vertebrates has made the regions such as the cortex and cerebellum more specialised. Hence this explains higher mental function in vertebrates than in invertebrates and unicellular animals.

References
Carlson, N. R. (2013). Foundations of behavioural neuroscience. Pearson Education.Emes, R. D., Pocklington, A. J., Anderson, C. N., Bayes, A., Collins, M. O., Vickers, C. A., … & Grant, S. G. (2008). Evolutionary expansion and anatomical specialisation of synapse proteome complexity. Nature Neuroscience, 11(7), 799.Harden, N., Wang, S. J. H., & Krieger, C. (2016). Making the connection–shared molecular machinery and evolutionary links underlie the formation and plasticity of occluding junctions and synapses. J Cell Sci, 129(16), 3067-3076.
Xia, S., & Chiang, A. S. (2009). NMDA receptors in Drosophila.