The Neuroscientist

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here to sign up for SAGE Journal Email Alerts today!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (4)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lardi-Studler, B.
Right arrow Articles by Fritschy, J.-M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lardi-Studler, B.
Right arrow Articles by Fritschy, J.-M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
The Neuroscientist, Vol. 13, No. 2, 115-126 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1073858406296803

Reviews

Matching of Pre- and Postsynaptic Specializations during Synaptogenesis

Barbara Lardi-Studler

Jean-Marc Fritschy

Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland, fritschy{at}pharma.unizh.ch

Formation of chemical synapses in the central nervous system is a highly regulated, multistep process that requires bidirectional communication across the synaptic cleft. Neurotransmitter receptors, scaffolding proteins, and signaling molecules need to be concentrated in the postsynaptic density, a specialized membrane microdomain apposed to the active zone of presynaptic terminals, where transmitter release occurs. This precise, synapse-specific matching implicates that sorting and targeting mechanisms exist for the molecular constituents of different types of synapses to ensure correct formation of neuronal circuits in the brain. There is considerable evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies that neurotransmitter signaling is not required for proper sorting during synapse formation, whereas active neurotransmission is essential for long-term synapse maintenance. Here, the authors review recent studies on the role of cell adhesion molecules in synaptogenesis and on possible mechanisms ensuring correct matching of pre- and postsynaptic sites. They discuss the role of neurotransmitter receptors and scaffolding proteins in these processes, focusing on fundamental differences between synapse formation during development and synapse maintenance and plasticity in adulthood. NEUROSCIENTIST 13(2): formation during 115—126, 2007. D

Key Words: Synapse • GABAergic transmission • Glutamatergic transmission • Cell adhesion molecules • PSD-95 • Gephyrin


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
N. Ichinohe, A. Knight, M. Ogawa, T. Ohshima, K. Mikoshiba, Y. Yoshihara, T. Terashima, and K. S. Rockland
Unusual Patch-Matrix Organization in the Retrosplenial Cortex of the reeler Mouse and Shaking Rat Kawasaki
Cereb Cortex, May 1, 2008; 18(5): 1125 - 1138.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]