Possible regulatory function of acetylcholine receptor in maintenance of retinotectal synapses.

alpha-Neurotoxins bind to cholinergic receptor, block transmission, and induce sprouting of retinal terminals in the toad tectum. New connections retain an orderliness that suggests a selective affinity between presynaptic terminals. The results suggest that postsynaptic cells exert a control, associated with receptors, on the growth of presynaptic terminals and on the maintenance of their synaptic connections.