http://www.plosbiology.org/article/inf
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The human brain contains trillions of neuronal connections, called synapses, whose pattern of activity controls all our cognitive functions. These synaptic connections are dynamic and constantly changing in their strength and properties, and this process of synaptic plasticity is essential for learning and memory. Alterations in synaptic plasticity mechanisms are thought to be responsible for multiple cognitive deficits, such as autism, Alzheimer's disease, and several forms of mental retardation. In this study, we show that synapses can be made more plastic using a small protein fragment (peptide) derived from a neuronal protein involved in cell-to-cell communication. This peptide (FGL) initiates a cascade of events inside the neuron that results in the facilitation of synaptic plasticity. Specifically, we find that FGL triggers delivery of a specific type of glutamate receptor (AMPA receptors) to synapses in a region of the brain called the hippocampus, which is known to be involved in multiple forms of learning and memory. Importantly, when this peptide was administered(how?) to rats, their ability to learn and retain spatial information was enhanced. Therefore, this work demonstrates that cognitive function can be improved pharmacologically in adult animals by enhancing the plasticity of synaptic connections in the brain.The blogger version here:
http://brainslab.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/morphology-is-probably-not-destiny-in-ca1/
This group previously made a synthetic peptide (called FGL) that mimics the active site of a cell adhesion molecule involved in neurite outgrowth (NCAM)
I am assuming that dendrite outgrowth would be helpful to us to connect up synapses past damaged areas. Translation please. Someone needs to run with this and get some human testing done with a therapy protocol.
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