Shootin1a - The missing link underlying learning and memory
IMAGE: Shootin1a Is Required for Spine Structural Plasticity. Fluorescence time-lapse images of dendritic spines (A) and time course of their volume changes (B) of hippocampal neurons in slice culture. Spines were.
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Naoyuki Inagaki
Ikoma, Japan - In neurons, changes in the size of dendritic spines - small cellular protrusions involved in synaptic transmission - are thought to be a key mechanism underlying learning and memory. However, the specific way in which these structural changes occur remains unknown. In a study published in Cell Reports, researchers from Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) have revealed that the binding of cell adhesion molecules with actin, via an important linker protein in the structural backbone of synapses, is vital for this process of structural plasticity.