Dendritic spine abnormalities in mental retardation.

Abnormalities in dendritic spine morphologies are often associated with mental retardation. Since dendritic spines are thought to represent a morphological correlate of neuronal plasticity, altered spine morphologies may underlie or contribute to cognitive deficits seen in mental retardation. Signaling cascades that are important for cytoskeletal regulation may have an impact upon spine morphologies. The Rho GTPase signaling pathway has been shown to be involved in the regulation of the cytoskeleton and to play fundamental roles in the structural plasticity of dendritic spines. Moreover, alterations in the Rho GTPase signaling pathway have been shown to contribute to mental retardation. Recently, different mental retardation-associated genes have been identified that encode modulators of the Rho GTPases. Disturbances in these genes can lead to mental retardation and-on the morphological level-to alterations in dendritic spines. Thus, getting more insight into the Rho GTPase signaling pathways, and the molecules involved, would not only help in understanding the basic mechanisms by which the morphologies of dendritic spines are modulated but may also allow the development of therapeutic strategies to counteract some aspects of mental retardation.