Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Trends Neurosci. 2012 Feb;35(2):135-43. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2011.12.002. Epub 2012 Jan 3.
Dendritic spines, small bulbous postsynaptic compartments emanating from neuronal dendrites, have been thought to serve as basic units of memory storage. Despite their small size (~0.1 femtoliter), thousands of species of proteins exist in the spine, including receptors, channels, scaffolding proteins and signaling enzymes. Biochemical signaling mediated by these molecules leads to morphological and functional plasticity of dendritic spines, and ultimately learning and memory in the brain. Here, we review new insights into the mechanisms underlying spine plasticity brought about by recent advances in imaging techniques to monitor molecular events in single dendritic spines. The activity of each protein displays a specific spatiotemporal pattern, coordinating downstream events at different microdomains to change the function and morphology of dendritic spines.
树突棘，是从神经元树突上延伸出的小的球状突触后隔室，被认为是记忆存储的基本单位。尽管它们的体积很小（约 0.1 飞升），但在棘突中存在着成千上万种蛋白质，包括受体、通道、支架蛋白和信号酶。这些分子介导的生化信号导致树突棘的形态和功能可塑性，最终导致大脑中的学习和记忆。在这里，我们回顾了近年来在单树突棘中监测分子事件的成像技术的进展带来的关于棘突可塑性的机制的新见解。每种蛋白质的活性都显示出特定的时空模式，协调不同微域中的下游事件，从而改变树突棘的功能和形态。
