When peptides that mimic the cytoplasmic tails of AMPA receptors are expressed in individual "Xenopus" neurons, trafficking of AMPA receptors to nascent synapses is minimized in those cells. These cells, like normal neurons, extend and retract dendritic branches. In the normal cell, some of these branches would form synapses, which is not the case in the neurons expressing the peptide. As a result, these cells have minimal dendritic arbors. This is because without AMPA receptors, the neuron can't cause neighboring neurons to fire action potentials, therefore disallowing their synapses to strengthen.